


Groupies in love

by sunshine_and_rainbows



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Popstar, Coming Out, Crossdressing, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, POV Alternating, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-10-25 23:16:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 61,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20732336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshine_and_rainbows/pseuds/sunshine_and_rainbows
Summary: When Nico dressed up as a girl for a bet, he didn't expect the night to end well. He definitely didn't expect to hook up with a gorgeous international pop star. And he didn't expect to fall in love. Fuck, his life is really a mess sometimes...





	1. Nico

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own these characters and I apologize to Rick Riordan that I've made a compete mess of them... (but it's his fault, really, for coming up with such adorable characters...)
> 
> This is my first attempt at writing a multi chapter story, but I've got four out of seven chapters written and the other three outlined. Hopefully, posting this will get me the push I needed to actually finish the story that has been sitting in my computer for a bit too long half written. My goal is to have this finished by the end of October, at the latest.
> 
> I rated this M, but I'm still not sure exactly when a story goes from M to E, so if anyone thinks I should rate it higher, let me know. I don't think it's particularly explicit, but I never know for sure what ticks people off... I may increase the rating later on if it gets out of hand too...
> 
> I also got a question about why Bianca and Nico are twins, and basically it was because when I started writing, I had a more "twelfth-night inspired" plotline in mind, but the fic went in another direction, but a lot of the things I had written in worked better with them as twins, so I kept them that way.

Nico di Angelo was pretty sure his sister was the root of all things evil in the world. Or, rather, his sisters were, normally. But this particular horror was all Hazels fault, really. After all, she was the one to suggest the stupid bet and of course the di Angelo twins were yet to back down from a challenge. 

Growing up with Bianca as his twin sister had been like a twenty year long, never ending, competition, starting with who walked first, talked first, who got the better grades, who could suck longer at a lollipop, who dared to climb higher, who could swim farther, who could eat more pancakes at Sunday breakfast… At times, they had even gotten themselves into trouble by challenging each other with more reckless dares, like who could drink the most alcohol at a party or who would dare to decorate a homophobic asshole jock’s locker with some suitable graffiti (that one got them both detention for a pretty long time, and their father had to pull some strings to keep them from getting suspended).

The competitiveness subsided a bit during those dark years after they lost their mother, their father remarried and their half sister Hazel suddenly showed up out of the blue. Then it was just Nico and Bianca versus the world and the challenging was down to small everyday matters. However, as Hazel slowly broke down their walls and carved out a space for herself in their hearts and lives, she picked up on the dynamics between the twins and took it upon herself to challenge them to ever more imaginative dares, and often judging the outcome (if it wasn’t obvious). They usually had a prize for the person who won, or a punishment for the one who lost, but they never had thought about what they would do if one of the twins decided to back out. It was a situation completely unheard of. Because being a di Angelo meant you were definitely not a quitter. This time though, Nico was seriously considering if the shame of backing out and forever being called a chicken as well as taking any punishment his sisters could think of wouldn’t be worth it after all. He had never, ever, been this humiliated in his whole life. And he had been seriously humiliated before…

It had all started at a party a couple of weeks ago when they had all been drinking a bit too much and Nico had to admit it was partly his fault. This guy Bianca was crushing on was supposed to show up and Nico had been teasing her relentlessly for being a blushing mess when he was mentioned, which she forcefully denied. Then, Nico had made one of his uncanny Bianca impersonations, complete with voice, posture, giggling and everything to demonstrate his point. Bianca then went on to do a grumpy Nico as revenge and some of their friends had been roaring with laughter at the two of them. Until their (now former, in Nico’s opinion) friend Leo had said the words of doom.  _ It’s really scary how much you two look alike...seriously, change hairstyles and clothes and you could pass for each other… _

Nico only needed to see the mischievous flash in Hazels eyes to know what was coming, and there were too many witnesses to back out when the challenge was proposed. Who would be the first to successfully hit on a (straight) person of the same sex? Bianca, dressed up as a guy, or Nico dressed up as a girl? 

Their whole group of friends participated in the negotiation of the details. Like, what counted as a success? getting a phone number or similar or a proposal for an actual date or otherwise Hazel and Leo together could be the judges and vote a winner. It was considered that Bianca would have a disadvantage since a guy was generally more likely to give out his number or buy drinks for an unknown girl than the other way around. On the other hand, she had the advantage of knowing what girls generally look for in a man. Nico, on the other hand didn’t know much about what kind of flirting worked on straight guys. On the other hand, he had plenty of wingmen to work with and after a lot of debating it was considered that it didn’t really level the playing field, and thus, Bianca would be allowed to choose the location for the showdown. In order to make sure they both really took the challenge seriously, a punishment that would lead to even worse humiliation than cross dressing in public was chosen and the bet was on.

At some point, their friends Piper and Reyna got involved - Piper with the mission of making Nico into the epitome of female beauty for one night and Reyna took it upon herself to turn Bianca into a real stud of a man and the two friends got almost as involved in the challenge as the di Angelos. It was true that the twins looked rather similar, both having fairly androgynous features and bodies. They were about the same height, which meant Bianca was a bit above medium and Nico a bit below. Bianca, naturally, had a more female figure, but she was just a B-cup at best, which wasn’t too hard to hide.. Nico, on the other hand, had slimmer hips and a bit more muscle, but they both had lean and toned runner type bodies. (And yeah, who can run for the longest distance without rest was a bet they will never take again… It had almost landed Nico in the hospital dehydrated and Bianca had lost two of her toe nails, so no. That was a one time thing.)

This, Nico decided, was also going to be a one time thing. As he walked down the stairs into the living room where his evil overlord of a half sister and her band of wicked goons (aka his friends) where waiting he felt almost more self conscious than that first day after he came out in High School and everybody were staring when he walked through the corridors. He didn’t know why it made him so uncomfortable that he actually looked like a girl. Perhaps it was because he was gay and it hit a bit too close to home (or rather, too close to all of the more or less creative gay-equals-girly-comments he had to endure growing up, including being called Nicole)? At this point in his life, he was not ashamed of his sexuality at all. On the contrary, he wore rainbow colored shoe laces on his sneakers (which said a lot about his engagement in gay pride since the color scheme of his outfits generally consisted of fifty shades of black) and he had no problem making out with guys at parties or walk through town holding hands with a date. But something about dressing up as a girl made him feel like an insecure fourteen year old again. 

When his old crush Percy wolf whistled as he made his entrance he officially decided this was going to be the worst night ever. 

“Wow, Nico, you make a hot chick...” Percy said and gave him an appreciative once over, earning him a slap over the back of his head from his, less oblivious, girlfriend. Oh, if Percy only knew how he would have died to hear him say that a couple of years ago. Or, he would probably have been mortified that Percy liked him better as a girl, but still. Back then, Percy’s opinion of him could decide his mood for a week and he had made a fool of himself more than once to see his face split into that charming, lopsided grin. Luckily, Nico had been over Percy for years now, and he had poker face enough to hide how uncomfortable he really was in this outfit. Instead, he rolled his eyes and smirked. When in need of hiding his emotions; sarcasm and sass had always been Nico’s most trusty tools. 

Instead, he spun around and showed off his best feminine poses, earning him more whistles and applause from his friends. He was wearing a black a-line dress, with black tights and high heel boots (where Piper had found those in his size, he didn’t know), a thin, purple cardigan and a matching scarf to hide his adam’s apple and more masculine neck. He had agreed to let Piper curl his shoulder length hair into a more feminine shape and to do his makeup and pluck his eyebrows a bit (although not as much as she would have liked to). He even agreed to wear a somewhat stuffed bra, but he refused to wear panties or shave his legs or shit like that. He may be gay, but he was no pretty boy, thank you very much. The second he had won this stupid bet, he would change clothes in the nearest bathroom and he would not spend the next month growing stubble on his legs, no thanks. Thus the tights and boots… Luckily, or rather due to Piper’s genius, the wide skirt of the dress gave him a nice hourglass shape and hid his junk rather successfully, giving him the satisfaction of wearing normal boxer briefs under the outfit. The thin cardigan hid his tattoos and muscular arms while still looking rather feminine. Piper was a genius, that much was certain. Nico was sure he could win this challenge with his hands tied behind his back.

Once Bianca made her entry, he wasn’t so sure anymore. The really uncanny part was how much she looked like him. She had gone all in, and even let Reyna cut her black hair to shoulder length like Nico’s, tying it back into a scruffy ponytail. She was wearing fake sideburns and makeup too, giving her eyebrows more substance and the light shading around her jawline made impressive fake stubble. They had evidently been scavenging Nico’s closet, and she was sporting a black leather jacket over a blue button up shirt, a pair of loose fit black jeans and Nico’s combat boots. She looked a bit more androgynous than Nico, naturally, but she still didn’t look bad. She could easily pass for a guy if she only kept to the proper stances and body language. This was going to be a tough competition. 

*

“This is so not fair play…” Nico grumbled as they entered the night club at Artemis’ hotel downtown. 

“What? Since it’s easier for girls to pick up guys I was allowed to choose the location, remember?” Bianca gave him a smirk and Hazel and Leo only shrugged in response. 

_ Damnit Bianca… _

Her friend Zoe was working as a manager at the local Artemis’ and Bianca had somehow managed to convince her to let them in to a VIP event with a maximum of twenty percent male participants, which definitely lowered his chances of success. It was some kind of after party following a big concert that had been held earlier that evening in town, and evidently a small performance from the artist himself had been promised.  _ William Solace. _ And that explained the vast number of swooning girls in their late teens. Nico groaned when he took in the clientèle. It wasn’t exactly his usual hunting grounds, even if he had been here as himself, or the kind of people he preferred to socialize with. He had heard of the artist, of course. It was impossible not to. He would probably recognize a lot of his songs from the radio too, but that kind of music wasn’t exactly frequenting his most-played-list in Spotify. And that golden boy brat may be smokin´ hot, objectively speaking, but he was so not Nico’s type. He was known to be a notorious flirt and a real heartbreaker, who would hook up with random groupies and have flings here and there that filled the tabloids and the internet with gossip, but he never seemed to settle down with a steady girlfriend. And this  _ really _ explained the swooning girls. Hopefully though, most of them would be too occupied ogling the pop star and hoping to be tonight’s flavor for him to flirt with Bianca…. How he would stand a chance with the limited number of men present, on the other hand, he had no idea. 

Once inside, they decided to split up to give both of them a fair chance of scoring. As fun as this was (not) they agreed that they’d rather settle this tonight than having to make an encore performance. Cross dressing was a lot of work, to be honest.

The guys went with Bianca, and the girls, minus Reyna, went with Nico and they started with having a few drinks in order to make Nico a bit more relaxed. Things started off ok. Once he had calmed himself with two or three disgustingly sweet, colorful cocktails, Nico managed to flirt rather convincingly with a couple of guys if he was any judge of it. Piper tried her best to coach him, revealing all her best tricks and one liners for scoring hook-ups. After a while he even managed to get a couple of guys to buy drinks for their little party. Hazel argued that it didn’t count as a point for Nico though, since it would have to be more personal, and he decided he needed to break up the group to stand a chance. He stayed with Piper while Annabeth and Hazel went to search for their boyfriends, and they actually didn’t have a half bad time. 

The only problem was that he had a hard time committing to the flirting thing. The guys were either here with their girlfriends (not trusting them anywhere near Solace and his companions on their own, which Nico could sympathize with) or they were really not Nico’s type. Naturally, he wasn’t here to actually pick someone up, but still. It would have been easier to be convincing if he had found the guys even remotely attractive. He did stumble upon a kind of cute pretty boyish type who turned out (unsurprisingly) to be gay and confessed he had accompanied his friends so he could ogle the pop star up close, too. It was a shame, really, that Nico couldn’t flirt with  _ him  _ instead and he almost told him he had a brother who was gay whom he could arrange a blind date with if the guy was interested. But in the end, he decided his mission was more important. There would always be cute boys, but a chance to beat Bianca at this game was a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

Nico tried the dance floor with some success, managing to draw some attention to himself and Piper and earning them a couple of more drinks. He didn’t dare to dance too close to any guy though, and risk exposing his more manly body parts if they pressed against him. It would be really bad if someone was feeling him up and noticed he wasn’t a girl… or if he got an embarrassing boner on the dance floor. He hadn’t really considered to what extent it was possible to sport a visible tent in an a-line dress and he sincerely hoped he would never have to find out. 

After a bit of dancing and flirting, he almost managed to make a guy buy him a drink, but just as he was done laying the groundwork, that stupid pop star finally showed up and everyone lost their focus, turning to a small stage in the corner. Nico sighed and took the opportunity to visit the ladies room as he performed his terrible song, music playback, naturally. Nico doubted that he was even really singing. The ladies room was an interesting experience in itself. There were little bottles of God knows what that one could try, candles and potpourri in bowls on the shelves, and a vending machine offering condoms and tampons and other things Nico didn’t even want to know what they were. As Solace was performing, the place was empty too, which was a relief. He didn’t know if he could have pulled off small talk with random (hysterical, swooning) girls in the line.

As it turned out, Bianca had the same idea and they met as they both exited the restrooms.

“So, how’s it going…?” she asked.

“Not bad, but the number of straight, single men is rather limited I must say… At least I’ve not been busted so far… You?” Nico smirked.

“Same, but I think my chances will increase once Solace has settled down with someone for the evening. Right now, it seems most of the girls here are only out to get him…” Bianca sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Well, it was your choice sis…” Nico teased, checking his outfit in the mirror, and they made their way back to separate parts of the club again.

Nico hovered for a while by the bar, having another drink. He was getting rather tipsy by now, and he realized he would have to slow down to keep his focus and not slip up and expose himself. Once the performance was over, he hit the dance floor again with Piper, but it wasn’t really an enjoyable experience. The mainstream pop music seriously sucked, like it was taken directly from the top forties list mixed with all of Will Solace’s greatest hits. It was also really too crowded and much too hot. He wished he could at least take off his cardigan and the damn scarf but that would blow his cover instantly. Suddenly, the dance floor was even more crowded than before, and Nico signaled to Piper he needed a break. He didn’t get far, though, before he got stuck as he found the source of the sudden increase in occupants of the dance floor. Solace himself had decided to shake it, apparently. He was moving his annoyingly muscular, tan body seductively across the dance floor, probably making it his mission to dance and flirt with as many girls as possible, surrounded by some buff bodyguards. Beads of sweat were running down his neck, soaking his sleeveless muscle shirt until it was clinging to his sculpted chest like a second skin and his perfect ass was swaying to the music, making it very, very hard not to stare. So, he may not have been Nico’s type, but he sure was hot as hell. And even more so up close. He locked eyes briefly with the pop star and Nico felt his heart stop and his legs almost give way under him. Shit, those eyes were like magnets...

Nico tried to press himself through the crowd and get off the dance floor, away from the dangerous temptation, but he suddenly felt a hand grip his wrist. He managed to fight down the urge to karate flip the culprit over his shoulder and remembered he was supposed to be a charming girl tonight, not some badass sassy guy who always managed to get into trouble. Instead he turned around slowly, and his jaw dropped. 

_ Fuck. _

Out of all the people in the fucking world, that hot ass bastard of a pop star was trying to twirl him into a spin on the dance floor, refusing to let go of his hand. He gulped and quickly plastered a smile on his face, deciding it was best to play along, or it would get very suspicious. He smiled sweetly (or so he thought) at Solace, prepared to play his part, but  _ goddamn fucking shit… _ Up close, the guy was so much more gorgeous than any picture Nico had ever seen of him. He had a generous spray of freckles across his face (that were probably either maked over or edited away in the pictures) and the bluest eyes Nico had ever seen. Like, one could probably stare into those eyes all day and discover shades of blue previously unheard of. 

_ Seriously, what the fuck?  _ When did he turn into a swooning teenage girl for real? This had to stop, now… But when he tried to pull away, it only seemed to trigger some kind of interest in the pop star, like he was not used to being rejected like that and thus, Nico was suddenly prey. Solace pulled him closer and slipped a hand around his waist, pressing their bodies together to the rhythm of the music. And Nico thought he was going to faint for real. The guy was mesmerizing, like a black hole sucking him in, and he was under the threat to get lost in him forever. It was impossible not to be affected by his extremely hot body, his gorgeous face, golden locks and seductive movements on the dance floor. And the way he smelled faintly of sunshine and fresh oceans mixed with some musky scent that made Nico a bit dizzy. This was a serious problem. A problem that would very, very soon blow his cover if he didn’t escape quickly, because the blood was rushing down at the feel of the golden boy’s hot breath against Nico’s neck. Suddenly, he felt Solace tense a bit.  _ Shit, shit, shit. He probably noticed…  _ Nico cursed his own stupidity and quickly pulled away to make his retreat, taking the guy by the hand for one last twirl before he skillfully withdrew and left him surrounded by a bunch of eager girls seeing an opening. 

*

_ Goddamn fucking hell... _

Nico swore to himself, biting back a groan as his cock pulsed in his hand, releasing that uncomfortable tension that had threatened to blow him up during the brief dance where he was grinding his body against the hottest guy he had ever seen in his life.  _ Fuck _ , this was so not his proudest moment, jerking off locked inside a bathroom stall in the ladies, surrounded by fucking little bowls of scented flowers, dressed in an skirt and tights, the image of blue eyes, sweaty abs and freckles flashing before his eyes. Yeah, this memory was going to be a secret he would take to his grave alright. 

Also, he seriously needed to get his shit together and focus on the challenge or Bianca would beat him any second…

He made his way back to the bar, looking for Piper, but she was gone. He was just about to order something really strong to drink when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“So, can I get you something, beautiful?” 

_ Holy Hades... this is not happening... _

Nico didn’t recognize the voice, but he knew he would look into a pair of cerulean blue eyes when he turned his head, and he was right. Seriously, there were literally hundreds of girls waiting in line to throw themselves at this guy and Nico wasn’t half as hot (or lightly clothed) as most of them. Was it just because he had pulled away? Was it just a game to this bastard? Like he would drop down dead if he didn’t have the full attention of every single girl in this place? Part of him just wanted to tell the guy to get lost. It’s not like he was going to get anywhere with this one… But also, as annoying and false as Solace seemed, Nico couldn’t deny being incredibly attracted to the guy and he had a hard time even forming a sentence coherent enough to be able to reject him.

“Thanks, that would be great…”  _ What _ ? That wasn’t what he had meant to say!?

“So what flavor do you prefer…?” Solace flashed him a seductive smile and Nico felt his mouth go dryer then if he had swallowed half a desert. What the hell kind of question was that? Was there some hidden meaning, or was it some straight guy pick up line he didn’t get?

“Um… surprise me?” he squeaked, looking around desperately while Solace asked for his name (you can call me Nicole) and instructed Nico to call him Will. Where the hell was Piper? And where were all the other girls? But then Nico saw the two buff body guards standing on either side of them, waving everyone away who tried to approach them. 

“So, who are you looking for? Boyfriend? Or a friend…?” He raised an eyebrow at Nico who swore internally again. Evidently Solace had noticed his panicking eyes flickering around the room. 

“Oh, just my friend… she’s a big fan, she would love to meet you….” he smiled sheepishly, not being able to meet the blonde’s eyes. 

“Ok, so how about you? Are you a fan too?” Solace raised another eyebrow at him, a mischievous smirk on his lips. Damn, that was cute… much more real than the false grins he has plastered on his face in all the pictures…

“What? Um. Yeah. Sure. Big fan…” he lied, hoping he sounded like a fangirl but strongly suspecting this wasn’t his best act ever.

“So, which song is your favorite?” Will asked, handing him a beer and raising his own foaming lager as cheers, giving him a small wink.  _ What the fuck? What kind of guy buys a girl a beer to seduce them?  _ And what was this? Some kind of interrogation? Fuck… he didn’t know the name of one single song the guy had made.

“Um… the one you just played?” Nico suggested stupidly, but he probably didn’t look that convincing because Solace’s lips twitched a bit and he got a mischievous glint in his baby blues. 

“Oh, the brand new one…?”

“Eh...yeah, I mean… I liked it instantly. Probably the best I’ve heard…” Nico tried, but he could see the guy wasn’t buying his shit. He didn’t seem offended though, more… amused?

“You don’t know a thing about my music, do you?” he snorted, lips twitching again as he leaned casually (looking extremely sexy) against the counter, raking a hand through his hair. Nico had a hard time focusing on what he just said. All he could think about was suddenly what it would feel like to bury his hands in those golden curls. He took a sip of his beer to stall for time, but he really couldn’t think of a way out of it so he shrugged sheepishly and gave Solace a lopsided smile.  _ It’s not like it’s illegal not to listen to the guy’s music, right? _

Nico had expected the egocentric pop star to leave him alone when he realized Nico wasn’t his usual groupie, but the guy surprised him yet again. He actually leaned in a little closer and met Nico’s eyes with a longing gaze that turned his insides to mush, leaving him a quivering blushing mess.

“So, Nicole, could I interest you in a bit of private education…? I mean, I can’t let you walk around this ignorant, now can I?” the blonde whispered suggestively, his mouth so close he could feel the hot breath on his ear.

“Oh…” Nico was absolutely speechless, which, for the record, wasn’t something that happened to him all that often. But he was in the wrong clothes, in the wrong persona, the wrong place… and he didn’t have a protocol for how the girl-version of him would handle such a situation. As a guy, he was either interested and flirted back or he told people who came onto him to fuck off without further ado. This situation was a bit complicated, not only because he wanted to keep his cover. He was also an internal mess of conflicting feelings. He was painfully, embarrassingly attracted to this guy and had he really been coming onto _Nico _this strongly they would be naked already. But he had to remind himself; this guy wasn’t flirting with Nico, he was flirting with a girl version of him.

“Um…” Nico continued “Thanks for the offer, but…” he started, but by then Solace had closed the distance between them, snaking an arm around his waist and leaned in to crash their lips together. Nico was caught completely off guard and didn’t even manage to pull away. Instead, he felt himself respond to the kiss, opening his mouth slightly to let the blonde slip his tongue inside his mouth. He suddenly heard Solace let out a small moan, which snapped him back to reality real quick.  _ What the fuck am I doing? _

He pulled away, breath hitched and pupils probably blown wide, revealing his desire for the man as clear as day. But he still managed to wriggle free of Solace’s grip and put a hand on his chest.

“I’m a great teacher though… and an even better kisser... “ the other said huskily, making absolutely no effort to hide his intentions.

“Um...I’m flattered, but I think there’s a long line of girls who are much more deserving of a private tutoring session than I am” Nico managed to press out, fighting against the urge to scream  _ yes, yes, take me now... _

“Oh, but I find you quite… deserving…” Will Solace actually smirked at him “Intriguing, really. I would very much like to give you a private session...” he insisted. Well, the guy had confidence, you had to give him that…

Nico felt his lips twitching this time, and he had to bite back a laugh. If only he knew… 

“No, you don’t…  _ Believe me _ when I say I’m not your type Solace…” Nico replied with emphasis, a small smirk dancing on his own lips this time.

The blond didn’t seem so easily scared though and Nico just couldn’t understand why the guy would go through so much trouble trying to seduce him when he could have been naked in his bed with three willing girls already.

“But I disagree… I think you’re exactly my type…” Solace insisted, stepping into Nico’s space again. “Why don’t we go somewhere a bit more private, and I’ll prove it to you, huh?” 

“No, really… you don’t want to do that. I swear. I’m not that kind of girl…” Nico said, giving him a small smile.

“So, what kind are you?” He cocked his head a bit to the side and gave Nico a penetrating gaze that sent shivers down his spine. “I’m not wrong to assume you’re attracted to me, am I?” he asked plainly, leaving Nico speechless again. Evidently, this guy was used to getting what he wanted… Nico was trying to decide between confessing that he might be and some sarcastic sass, because this guy was clearly a bit too cocky for his own good. Someone ought to bring him back down to earth…. But before he could speak, Solace leaned in again and whispered very quietly in his ear.

“I could feel it when we were dancing…” 

_ What. The. Actual. Fuck.  _ The thoughts were racing through Nico’s mind. Was he implying what Nico thought he was? Had he felt him get a hard on on the dance floor? Was Solace just messing with him? He was half expecting being handed over to the bodyguards and thrown out any second. But he was also completely dumbfounded yet again. How was it that this guy kept surprising him with every fucking sentence he uttered?

“You know…” the blond whispered again, checking around himself to see that nobody was listening “...like I said, you intrigue me. I just can’t figure out what your deal is... “ he met Nico’s surprised gaze again but when the brunette didn’t answer, he continued in a hushed voice. “Are you trans? Or just a pretty boy who likes to doll up? Or are you crossdressing for fun trying to screw me over…?”

Nico just gaped for a long time, still at a loss of words. He was so busted. So busted. The only thing he didn’t know was why Solace hadn’t put a knee in his groin yet. But he needed to do some damage control. Could he sue Nico for trying to con him or something? Or was he just waiting for his goons to kick his ass later? But why waste all this energy? Why try so hard to pretend to seduce him? The pop star was a complete and utter mystery…

“Um… sorry. I tried to warn you…” Nico tried for an apologetic grin while he dropped his voice back to his own. “And, none of the above actually… I… It’s a sort of bet… A long story, believe me, but the fact that I ran in to you was a pure accident. I didn’t mean to...”

Solace put a finger to his mouth, signaling for Nico to keep his voice down, and glanced a bit nervously around him, which seemed odd. Why would he go out of his way to help Nico keep up his act? Was he truly so bored with his life that he’d rather entertain himself trying to figure Nico out than actually getting laid?

“So, how about it? You want to go somewhere more private and tell me that story?” he whispered, eyes still focused on Nico as he tentatively leaned in again and snaked his hand back around Nico’s waist while fitting their lips together.

Somehow Nico’s brain had frozen while his body continued to function. It was an odd feeling, really. His hands moved on their own and his tongue slipped into Will’s mouth without his mind actually giving it consent to do so. The kiss was hungry, bordering on desperate, and it somehow took a couple of minutes for Nico’s brain to finally unfreeze.

_ What the hell just happened?  _

He was trying desperately to get a grip of the current situation, while his lips continued to desperately mold themselves against the blond’s, small moans escaping from both of their throats.  _ He was kissing  _ Will Solace, Will Solace, the pop star. Every teenage girl’s wet dream. Only, Nico was a guy. Solace _ knew  _ that, and from the feeling of the huge erection pressing against his thigh, the man didn’t mind much. The thoughts were swirling around in Nico’s mind, refusing to settling down and form a solid theory. He was tempted to just go with it and not question what was happening. Screw that bet, by the way, he wanted to have this guy naked on top of him, like  _ right now. _ But unfortunately, Nico’s never ending desire to question things and try to control any given situation won over and he pulled himself away from the kiss and gave Solace a questioning look. The blond met his eyes with a lust filled gaze that almost made Nico completely lose it. Will’s intense blue eyes had something almost desperate in them, his pupils blown wide and lids half closed. Nico swallowed hard and opened his mouth, trying to form the question he was dying to ask but he was silenced by a finger pressed against his lips again.

“Not here…” Will whispered in his ear, sending a pointed look at his bodyguards. 

“But…” Nico tried to protest but he was interrupted again.

“Look, if you’re at all interested, I would die for you to come up to my room… I’ll explain… but no one can know you’re not a girl, ok?” he whispered quietly and Nico felt his world tilt a bit.  _ Will Solace is a closeted bisexual - who would have guessed? _

It took him a bit too long to answer, there were too many questions going around his head. The primary one being if Solace was attracted to him because he was dressed as a girl or despite the fact… Because if he was expecting panties and shaved legs, he would be disappointed when the dress came off… Meanwhile, the blonde was starting to look a bit nervous, raking his hand through his hair again as he studied Nico intensely.

“I promise you I won’t force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, ok? I would just like to… you know…” he leaned closer again to whispered “see you the way you really are… and kiss you without that confusing outfit. If you don’t want to take it further, it's ok. I’m not really the person the papers are painting me out to be, I swear.”

His cocky demeanor was gone and there was something a bit insecure and almost needy in his voice now. Nico couldn’t help but melt a bit. Evidently this extremely hot, incredibly sexy, modern Adonis actually did want Nico, and was now worried he had come on too strongly. Well, screw it…

“You know…” Nico leaned in to whisper back, lips grazing against Will’s right ear, making the blond shiver slightly. “If I leave now, I’ll lose a very important bet and forever be humiliated by my sisters. If I make that kind of sacrifice you’d better make it worth it… I fully expect you to fuck my brains out… or the other way around if you prefer...” he continued seductively and he was instantly rewarded by a small whimper from the blond who pulled him into a searing kiss again, making Nico’s head spin. 

*

By the time they finally stumbled into Will Solace’s hotel room, (or suite is probably the more appropriate word since it was bigger than Nico’s apartment) Nico was sure he had never been that turned on in his whole life. No paparazzi were let into the hotel, luckily, but they had skillfully been dodging people with smartphones, eager to snap a pic of Solace’s latest conquest to sell to the tabloids. They had left the body guards in the lobby, after a hushed argument between them and Will, and once they were alone in the elevator, Will had pinned him against the wall and kissed him feverishly all the way up to the top floor. The sneaking around part was a bit thrilling, Nico had to admit, and added to the general sensation of excitement. Like doing something forbidden made it all the more alluring. 

_ It’s never too late for teenage rebellion, evidently.  _

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Will ripped Nico’s sweater and scarf off, attacking his neck and shoulder with desperate kisses. They were stumbling around, only breaking the kissing to rip pieces of clothing off as they went. Will’s shirt had already come off somewhere in the elevator and was hanging out from the back pocket of his jeans. Their shoes lay strewn across the lounge area and Nico had no idea where his dress had landed by the time they made it to the bedroom. He did know that he had knocked over a vase as he sent Will’s belt flying across the room, but none of them cared at the moment. Somewhere in his haze, Nico had a thought that it was a bit surprising how absolutely  _ starving  _ his lover seemed. Like an addict who relapsed into indulging after years of abstinence or something. It was a bit mind blowing that this guy, who could probably have any girl or boy he wanted, would be so excited by Nico of all people. Hell, he was the kind of guy who could probably make straight guys give it a shot at a gay experience… And here he was, all over Nico like a beast ravaging its prey.

Instead of throwing themselves on the bed, Will suggested they take a shower since he was still sweaty from his performance earlier. Nico didn’t mind at all. He really needed to get rid of the makeup and the curls… God, how did girls do this? His eyes were itching…

He almost regretted the decision when he saw the water streaming down Will’s naked, perfect body. He was just too gorgeous and Nico thought he was going to come just from watching the guy shower, like an overexcited teenager. When he stepped into the shower the blonde Adonis was instantly all over him again and it was clear he was just as eager as Nico, moaning and panting desperately as they grinded their bodies together, shivering from each touch. When Nico sank to his knees and took the tip of Will’s rock hard erection in his mouth, the other man breath hitched, almost like he was a nervous virgin. It was really kind of adorable. Nico never had much of a gag reflex, and he knew he was amazing at giving head generally, but Will’s surprised and blissful face was priceless nonetheless. He had only been on his knees a minute or so before Will started tugging at his hair, urging him to stop between moans.

Nico gave him a wink as he let go with a small popping sound.

“It’s ok… we might as well take some of the pressure off… we have all night, right?” Nico said and went back to his mission as Will gave him a small nod and threw his head back against the wall, still panting. It didn’t take long before Will was tugging at his hair again to warn him, but Nico didn’t care, he just went on to finish his task. Will was really even more attractive with that blissful look on his face, panting heavily with his pink, kiss-bruised lips slightly parted and head leaning against the wall. Nico wanted to etch this memory into his mind forever. When Will had returned the favour, getting Nico off for the second (and less embarrassing) time this night, he was starting to realize this guy meant trouble for real. By the time they had toweled themselves off and reached the bed he was already half hard again and he found himself thinking he would probably have wet dreams about this night for a long time to come.

They had started making out again, and Nico felt that Will’s state of arousal was about the same as his own, which made him feel a bit less desperate. At least he wasn’t alone in wanting this so much… He was just about to start kissing down Will’s neck, making plans to kiss every freckle on that gorgeous body before the night was over, when he heard an angry buzzing from somewhere in the room and realization dawned upon him. His horny brain had forgotten all about that stupid bet and that he had, in fact, come here with his sisters and a rather large group of friends.

“Fuck…” he muttered.

“What?”

“I might have forgotten to tell my friends I took off…” Nico said sheepishly, rolling over on his stomach and reaching for his purse on the floor (his  _ purse _ ...oh, the horror…). Yeah, he had like ten missed calls and so many texts he didn’t even bother to count.

“You’re not leaving, are you? I mean, I’m nowhere near done with you yet…” Will whispered, his warm, wet lips pressed against Nico’s shoulder blades as he draped himself over the brunette. 

“No, I’ll just tell them to fuck off, don’t worry. I won’t say where I went…” Nico assured him as he unlocked his phone and typed in a message in the group chat.

[From: GhostKing] Sorry guys, something came up. Don’t worry about me, but I had to leave. @Bi If you manage to score a number tonight I’ll happily admit defeat and name you victorious. I honestly wish you the best of luck since I’m not keen on letting Nicole out again anytime soon…

“So… where were we…” Nico continued huskily as he turned around to wrap himself eagerly around Will’s body.

*

Forty five minutes or so later, Nico was sprawled across Will’s chest, basking in the afterglow of the most mind blowing sex he could remember ever having. He was tracing across the blonde’s muscles with his fingers lazily, still panting. He was probably going to be sore as hell tomorrow, because Will wasn’t exactly small and they had both been too eager to prep properly. But it had been so worth it. He wondered if the blonde wanted him to leave right away, or if he would have the energy to go another round in half an hour or so? Nico sure wasn’t in any rush at the moment. If Solace was an equally amazing lover with girls, Nico could understand why they would line up.

“Oh, god… that was… amazing…” Will finally said, breaking the silence. 

“Hmm….” Nico made a sound he hoped was affirmative.

He didn’t want to ask, but he sort of felt he had to… Or at least, he needed to know before he got his expectations up.

“So, do you want to sleep now, or? I could leave if you…”

“God no” Will interrupted him and flipped them around, pinning Nico to the bed. “I think I remember something about a promise for you to fuck my brains out tonight? I’m not letting you leave before that is fulfilled at least once…” he whispered in Nico’s ear, but then he made a brief pause… “...that is, if you’re still up for that of course...I mean, I’m all for consent you know…”

Nico let out a small chuckle and leaned up to capture Will’s lips with his own.

“Give me a couple of minutes to catch my breath and we’ll see what I can do about that…” 

“Sounds like a plan to me…” Will smiled down at him and rolled over to the side, wrapping a leg over Nico’s thigh while he kept stroking his hair affectionately. This must be the weirdest one night stand Nico had ever had. He was much less drunk than he usually was when he occasionally landed himself in some stranger’s bed. And the way Will was looking at him and touching him; it was almost loving, like the way you expect your partner to caress you. And things just got stranger when Will made an unexpected confession. 

“I’m sorry if I’m a bit over eager, honestly. It’s just that I haven’t had sex in a  _ really _ long time… and you are incredibly hot you know… It’s not often I get an opportunity like this so I’d like to make the most of it…” he sighed and Nico just blinked and gaped at him.

“You… what? How is it possible that you would have difficulties getting laid?” he asked bluntly.

“Well, as I told you… I’m not supposed to have guys in my room and my manager is watching me like a fucking hawk. He would lose his shit if he realized you’re here…” Will sighed again and rolled his eyes slightly at the mention of his manager. 

“But… you sleep with girls, right? I suppose it can’t be the same, I wouldn’t really know, but… “

Will actually let out a little dry laugh at this statement and shook his head. “No, that’s just for show - I usually ditch them in the lobby or occasionally I take them to my room and have my manager interrupt and throw them out before things get too far… Unless it’s a friend playing along.”

“So, you’re…?”

“Hella gay, yeah..”

“But that’s…” Nico started, but lost his words mid sentence. 

“Fucked up? Tell me about it…” Will snorted. “It’s not like I enjoy the charade, but I was stupid enough to sign a contract without looking too closely at the fine print when I was new and desperate to get a record deal. Now, I have commited to pretending to be straight and my manager says it wouldn’t be convincing if I don’t hook up with some girl occasionally… Makes me feel like a real asshole to tell you the truth. Not that I think the groupies expect a marriage proposal, but I also don’t think they would appreciate if they knew they were making out with a gay guy…” 

“Oh, wow… that’s tough man… “ Nico said, completely dumbfounded. “But why? I mean, there are a lot of gay artists out there, right?”

“Yeah, but my fans are mainly teenage girls and the studio thinks my image as their dream guy is helping me sell records… really flattering, right? Says something about their faith in my music…” Will scoffed and Nico felt his worldview shift yet again. Will Solace was really nothing like the image he had built up in the media.

“You know” the blond continued “I actually always wanted to be a doctor growing up, to help people… but I’ve always loved singing too, and I couldn’t resist the offer to try when it was given to me. It’s a real rush to be on stage, addictive sort of. But sometimes I feel like the irony of giving up on a life saving people just so I can lie and fool them instead is slowly eating up my sense of self...” 

“But you’re still young you know… Perhaps someday you can still follow your dream? Or once you’re established as an artist and your fans grow up, maybe you could at least be yourself?” Nico tried, stroking the popstar over the hair. Therapist was not his strong suit, and this conversation was way too deep for your average hook up small talk… but he did feel for the poor guy, and the blunt honesty was somewhat refreshing actually.

“Sorry… talk about killing the mood… You didn’t come up here and sacrifice your bet and everything to hear me whine about my pathetic excuse for a love life…” Will suddenly chuckled, ripping himself out of his reverie.

“No big deal, I promise… It has been more than worth it so far and the night is still young, right?” Nico said, kissing Will’s jawline. 

“Mmmm… sounds good…” he mused, stroking Nico across the back. But then he thought of something. “You know, you never told me what that bet was about…?”

Nico chuckled a bit. “I have a twin sister, and we tend to get a bit competitive sometimes. And when one of our friends pointed out that we could easily pose as each other, our younger sister challenged us. The deal was to see who could first score a phone number from a straight person of the same sex. Me dressed up as a girl or Bianca pretending to be a guy… she got to choose the location and I guessed she had calculated that there would be an excess of girls at that party…” 

Will snickered a little. “Not that I’m sorry that you did, but how did you even get in? We usually have a rather strict guest list for these events and you’re hardly part of the usual fan base?” 

“Bianca knows the manager of the hotel and she let us in... please don’t kill her… My sister can be quite persuasive when she wants something.”

“Don’t worry, that was the best mistake that has happened to me in a long time, I promise…” Will grinned and went back to stroking Nico’s back. He evidently thought Nico had had enough time to rest, because he captured his lips and quickly deepened the kiss, pressing their naked bodies together, and not much more was spoken for the next hour or so.

*

When Nico woke up the next morning, he had no idea where he was at first. As he took in the dimly lit hotel room, and the big, soft bed with the white expensive sheets, it started coming back to him. His body was aching just about everywhere but his mind was still stuck in a state of bliss and he had a stupid smile on his lips. This was a small miracle in itself for sure, since Nico really wasn’t a morning person and he usually woke up rather grumpy. Not to mention, much later… 

Will’s body was still wrapped around his in a tangle of limbs and he felt the man’s heavy breath on his neck. Slowly, Nico turned around to face the godlike creature he was sharing the bed with, and sure enough, he was just as gorgeous as Nico remembered. Perhaps even more so with the faint morning light illuminating his peaceful face, making all his freckles almost glow as if they were tiny spots of sunlight.  _ Beautiful _ … Nico thought, almost breathless. And then he remembered, unfortunately, where he was and why.  _ Fuck _ … He had not meant to fall asleep here in Solace’s hotel room. That was beyond bad. The protocol for a one night stand clearly stated that you made yourself scarce before your partner woke up and could remember your face…

The problem was just, for the first time ever, he didn’t want to leave. He wanted Will to remember him. Damnit, he wanted him to ask Nico to stay and never ever leave again… He wanted to roll around naked in the sheets with that God of Sex every night. He wanted to stay awake and talk about the mysteries of life between rounds of passionate love making until five am and wake up to see his freckled face first thing every morning.  _ What? Shit…  _ Nico was starting to panic. Thoughts like that were dangerous. They led to heartbreak and pain under the best of circumstances, and Will Solace was like the guy who gave  _ unattainable _ a face. Not only was he forbidden to be seen with a guy, he was also a gorgeous international pop star who could have anyone if that ban was ever lifted. And he was here on tour; he probably lived in another state or another country or something. Nico had to get out of there  _ now _ , before the guy woke up. The only problem was if someone saw him leave. He didn’t know if he could pull off posing as a convincing girl without the makeup and hairdo to be honest. Not up close anyway. Damn, he should have gotten out while it was still dark…

Nico reluctantly tried to disentangle himself from Will’s embrace and the blond stirred and grunted a bit in his sleep. Slowly, he managed to get free and he started to get out of bed, only to be stopped by a hand on his wrist, giving him a clear case of deja vu. 

“You’re leaving?” Will had opened his large cerulean eyes and was giving him a rather disappointed look.

“Sorry I woke you, I thought you would want me gone…”

“No… don’t go yet… I wouldn’t mind a round of morning sex to be honest…” he yawned and stretched like a cute kitten before he gave Nico an almost pleading look and the brunette couldn’t help himself, a smile spread on his face against his will. Nico fell back into bed as Will started to kiss his neck hungrily.

“Sounds tempting… but I don’t know if I could go another round right now. My whole body hurts… and we’re out of both condoms and lube if I remember correctly, so…” he shrugged apologetically, but still with a fond smile on his face. He didn’t want Will to feel rejected, but he also knew it was for the best that he left while he could still do so without major consequences to the state of his mental health.

Will studied him intensely with a small pout on his lips, like he was trying to figure Nico out (which he probably was). And then he gave him the most adorable puppy eyes Nico had ever seen, making his heart skip a beat in his chest. 

Yeah, he was in so much trouble already.

“Please don’t leave… We could still take a shower together...and I could order up some breakfast?” Will begged and Nico found it almost impossible to resist those baby blues. “Besides, we have to make sure I can sneak you out of here unseen…” Will added smugly as if that sealed the deal. 

Which it kind of did. Although, if he was honest, he had him at the puppy eyes...

“Ok… I guess I wouldn’t say no to a cup of coffee and a morning BJ...” Nico winked at Will, whose face lit up in a megawatt smile that did funny things to his insides before he was wrapped up in a warm embrace again. 

*

When Nico finally did manage to drag his sorry ass out of Will’s hotel room, he was dressed up as a girl again to his horror, and Will’s amusement, donning a pair of rather big sunglasses (Nico didn’t know where the hell Will had managed to find them). Will suddenly snapped a picture of him with his phone and as Nico flipped him off (but with a smile) he shuffled his feet a bit and raked his fingers through his golden hair again. 

“Could I have your number? I mean… I… I really enjoyed last night… and this morning… and...perhaps we could do it again sometime?” Will asked, swallowing nervously. 

“Um…” Nico hesitated, his heart pounding madly in his chest. He wanted to scream YES so loudly they heard it on Mount Olympus, but he also didn’t want to get his hopes up in vain. “But you’re just in town on tour, right? You don’t actually live here…?”

“Yeah, no… I live in LA… but I have the week off. I’ll be here until Saturday. I have a friend who lives in New York and I promised her to spend some time in town. Perhaps we could figure something out and hook up again before I leave? I mean, if you’d want to?” 

“Hm, would it mean I’d have to dress up as a girl again??” he answered, trying to hide the panic in his voice behind a neat layer of humor. Of course, Will was only suggesting a casual fling… would he ever be able to pick up the pieces of himself after a whole week of  _ this?  _ But, then again, how the hell was he supposed to resist? He told himself it would just be sex and it would totally be worth the inconvenience...

“I don’t know… perhaps we could figure something out… But either way, I promise I would make it worth your while…” Will whispered suggestively in his ear again, evidently reading his mind.

“I bet you would…” Nico smirked, and pulled out a pen from his bag. He wrote his number on the back of an old receipt and gave Will a small wink and a peck on the cheek before he turned around and fled, unable to properly say goodbye. 

As soon as Nico left the hotel he was cursing his stupidity. He should have just left as soon as he woke up, while he still could unharmed… Now, three hours later, his stomach was full of annoying butterflies after the most amazing Sunday morning of his life, and that is saying something since they didn’t even have proper sex. 

But as much as he tried to convince himself of the contrary, it wasn’t just sex. Clichée as it may seem, it felt like they had known each other all their lives as they bantered and argued about everything from politics and the meaning of life to weather diluting your coffee with milk counted as blasphemy or not. 

Will was smart and funny and he had a really interesting view on certain topics that had Nico’s mind spinning with ideas. He didn’t know why, but something about the man just moved him. And it wasn’t just his good looks either… Realizing that Will’s allure didn’t fade come morning, he doubted he would ever be looking at another guy again without comparing them to the blonde. He would probably forever wonder  _ what if… _

Luckily, there were no paparazzi in sight as he stepped out of the hotel and into the morning sunlight (although it was closer to afternoon to be honest). A couple of girls sitting outside of a café across the street stared at him though, and he quickly turned his face away and made a quick escape for the bustling crowd of the street, in case they were Solace-fans. 

Shit, if his friends could see him now, sneaking out of a pop-star’s hotel room like some fifteen year old groupie; and dressed like a girl too. He didn’t know if it was hilarious or utterly pathetic, to be honest. He supposed time would tell if this would be a funny story in a couple of years, or something he’d rather never think about ever again.


	2. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will loses a phone number, becomes a social media stalker and finally gets lucky (again).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-drafted the end of this fic, so it's going to have more chapters than originally planned, but perhaps a bit shorter ones since I wanted to alternate the POV more at the end. You'll see... No worries though, I have it all planned out, so I've not lost control over it (yet).

“Lou, I think I am in love…” 

“Oh Gods, here we go again…”

“No, I’m serious… This is different. For starters, I met him in real life.”

“Ok, that’s something I guess. So, tell me everything! What’s his name?”

“Well… I don’t know that much to be honest. I think his name is Nico if he told me the truth… He lives here in New York… And well… I don’t know… but he’s got the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen...”

“That’s it? You’re telling me you fell in love with a guy and you don’t even know his full name or what he does or anything?”

“First of all, Lou… it was like love at first sight, I swear. I met his eyes and it felt like I was going to faint… And at that point I thought he was a girl so that was a really weird feeling to tell you the truth”

“You thought he was a girl? I didn’t think pretty boys were your thing?”

“No, but turns out he isn’t… kind of a long story…”

“Ok, you’ve got to back up here and tell me this from the beginning…”

Will was sitting on the couch in the lounge of his unnecessarily huge hotel suite, hugging a pillow, with his best friend Lou Ellen lying in his lap. They had originally planned to go out tonight, but first of all Will really felt like a night without being hunted by paparazzi and second of all, he could hardly walk straight today and he was scared as hell that his manager would guess why so he had been faking a migraine all day and stayed in his room, (hiding all potential evidence, like used condoms and empty packs of lube, carefully at the bottom of the trashcan). But it had very, very much been worth it. 

Anyway, Lou wasn’t much of a fan of media attention herself, so she didn’t mind staying in tonight. Tomorrow, his official travel schedule announced he would leave town, which would make it easier to hide if they wanted to be left alone. Three years in the business had taught him that people mostly saw what they expected to see, which meant that he could never go to some cool club or high end restaurant without being recognized, no matter what disguise he was wearing. But if he dressed the part and wore his hair differently (thank the lord for wash out hair color) and perhaps glasses, he could go to some shadier pubs or rock clubs or other places where his fans weren’t hanging out and get away with it. If someone asked, he would just roll his eyes and complain that he hated how much he looked like that golden boy pop singer brat and he was, truly, golden. 

No mistake though, Will did love his fans, and he loved his profession. Well, parts of it. Mostly, he liked singing… But sometimes he also liked the attention and hanging out at high end clubs and other VIP events. _ If you don’t this isn’t the profession for you _, his manager Octavian had told him once, and he had learned to truly enjoy it. But from time to time, it was really nice to get a break from all of that and just be himself and hang out, incognito, with his real friends. 

Oh, and then there was the dating part, or rather, the no-dating part, which he hated with passion. He had lost count of the number of arguments he had had with his manager over that. He was grateful to Apollo studios for giving him his big break after he won American Idol three years ago. A lot of the old winners really were forgotten rather quickly, but he had been singled out for a record deal almost at once, and Apollo had truly made his career happen. He had felt conflicted, for sure, when he postponed his planned pre-med college studies until further notice (aka probably forever) but it’s the kind of offer you don’t turn down or you will be spending your life thinking “what if?”

But as much as he loved Apollo Studios and his manager for making this happen, he also hated that they more or less owned him. He couldn’t live where he wanted, he couldn’t take a vacation when he wanted, his working hours were basically 24/7 if you took into account that his manager decided where he would eat and sleep most days (at least when on tour) and he couldn’t sleep with whom he wanted. And it wasn’t just that he missed sex or dating. He hadn’t been dating much before, he had always been too busy, and he never really came out officially either (to Octavian’s delight) so he only had one real boyfriend before, and not many people knew about them (which made it easy for Apollo to track them down and pay them to keep it quiet). So no, Will was by no means a sex addict or anything like that… but it was a matter of principle. 

He had hated the way his parents more or less forced him to stay in the closet back home (“for his own good” as the south is full of prejudice and bigotry after all, and they wouldn’t want him to get hurt). He had been counting the days until he could get out of there and go to college someplace more tolerant. So, the irony was almost unbearable - he travelled the world now, but still so deep in the closet it was a miracle he wasn’t constantly finding new portals to lost worlds. Also, if he had been out, he could have been a role model and help gay kids all over the world feel proud of themselves. The worst part though was pretending to be straight and flirt with girls. He didn’t actually kiss or pretend to hook up with them all that often, unless it was a friend who was into it for show (Lou had been posing as at least six different girls over the last year. Thankfully, she had always been into cosplay), but he had a good social media manager who made the most of every rumour. Sometimes it couldn’t be helped, though, and he felt like he was violating both himself and the poor girls. And he didn’t much like the picture that was painted of him in the media, which was about as far from the truth as you could get basically. 

Until now, even if he hated it at times, he had been able to accept his destiny and the fact that he had sold the rights to his own public image. Today though, he felt like he just wanted to tell the studio and perhaps the whole world (especially Octavian) to fuck off. He went on an emotional rollercoaster between goofy grins and bitter tears as he told Lou Ellen the whole story about the mystery guy he had fallen for like a log to a chainsaw last night.

The night had started out great, with a sold out concert leaving him in that euphoric state of adrenaline rush. He hadn’t even had time to get back to his hotel to take a real shower afterwards since he had been too busy writing autographs and posing with fans, so he had quickly washed off and changed backstage before going to the VIP-party at the club. On the way, Octavian and his social media manager, Kayla, had ruined his mood by implying that it was about time he made an appearance of picking up a girl tonight. He had hoped singing his new song at the club would be enough to make him trend Twitter at least, but no. Evidently his (fake) love life was more interesting to the fans than his music, which seriously sucked. It also sucked that Lou had to cancel her appearance at the party last minute (_ sorry, Will _ ) so he didn’t have anyone who could help him. He’d have to flirt around and try to find a girl he thought he could pick up and lose rather quickly without too much fuss. Perhaps someone who had a boyfriend and just wanted to flirt a bit, or one who was too young to actually do something (although that was dangerous, if she claimed they _ had _ done something he could be in trouble). 

After talking to some people for a while without finding a suitable subject he had hit the dance floor. He did love to dance and that was the one time he didn’t feel awkward to be flirty around just about everyone. It was part of the dancing, really, and didn’t mean anything. Suddenly, he had been totally caught off guard when his eyes had locked with a pair of anime style big eyes the color of molten dark chocolate with tiny gold flecks in them. He had never seen such beautiful eyes before in his life, and he almost felt his heart stop. The weird thing was that they had belonged to a girl (_ No, Lou, I thought he was a girl at that point, I’m getting to that) _ and Will didn’t know what to make of her. He had tried, so many times, but never ever had he managed to be the slightest attracted to a girl. Sure, he could see who was hot and not, or he could recognise a pretty face or beautiful eyes. But it was like when you look at art, it never _ did _ anything for him, not until now. When the mystery girl quickly looked away and tried to leave, he just couldn’t let her. He had to figure this out, so he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a dance. And as soon as he took her hand, he almost laughed out loud. Of course it’s not a girl… 

He had met skillful crossdressers and trans persons before, but as always, the hands gave this one away. They were way too masculine to belong to any person born as a girl. And the way he/she was wearing a cardigan and scarf on the hot dance floor was also kind of a giveaway once the suspicion was raised. The question was only; was she/he trans or was it just an act? And if it was a trans woman, would he still be attracted to her? He had never been in that situation, so he didn’t know. He only knew those chocolate eyes made his knees stupidly weak. And it couldn’t hurt to figure it out. After all, the worst case scenario was that he/she identified as girl and Will lost interest; although he somehow had the feeling that he wouldn’t care what this person identified as. 

It might be a gay man who had dressed up just to fool him, but first of all, he didn’t think so since dreamy eyes (his new nickname for the person) had been trying to make an escape. That’s not what you did if your intention was to con someone, right? And even so, in that case, the joke was on him, really… And if it was a guy who liked to doll up, well… it wasn’t Will’s normal type, but he also didn’t particularly have a problem with it. All he knew was that he had to find out…

Now, Will knew he was considered to be hot by most people who was into guys (and even by some who claimed they weren’t) and he could use that if he wanted to. Artist school did include sexy dance moves for a reason, after all… Usually, he didn’t utilize this trump card much off stage, but this time, he felt like it might be his one and only chance to find out what the mystery person in the purple scarf was all about. He had dialed his flirty act up to maximum level and even pulled dreamy eyes close to grind their bodies together in a dirty dance that would have impressed Patrick Swayze and he was instantly rewarded. Oh yeah, this was a guy alright… (or if it was a trans woman, she had the body of a man and she was definitely into him). However, dreamy eyes, who seemed to have noticed what was happening and probably didn’t want to get caught at whatever it was he/she was doing, had left the dance floor rather abruptly without meeting Will’s eyes again. It was a bit disappointing, but not surprising. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge that Will was gay after all… Hopefully dreamy eyes hadn’t left the club and he would get another shot at figuring him/her out?

He had danced with a couple of other girls for a while but he found himself constantly looking for purple and black in the crowd, and finally he had scored as he saw dreamy eyes coming back from the area of the restrooms, all alone, heading for the bar. This was his chance, he had to act before dreamy eyes found his/her friends or bolted altogether. He had made his way to the bar and offered dreamy eyes a drink. Just to mess with him/her he bought a beer, since he wanted to send a signal that he suspected he was a guy. He had a hunch that this wasn’t a regular crossdresser or trans after all. Normally, they wouldn’t be this uncomfortable with the attention… Even though the (probably) guy did a good impression of a girl, it seemed he was really out of his comfort zone and didn’t particularly enjoy it, which just had made Will all the more curious. He had decided to go all in and very clearly insinuate that 1) he knew this wasn’t an ordinary girl and 2) he didn’t mind at all and would very much like to take the dirty dancing from earlier somewhere more private, and with less clothes. Because at this point, after talking to dreamy eyes for a bit, Will was sure he wanted, no needed, this guy. He had never been this attracted to someone in his life, and this was despite of him being dressed up as a girl. When Will just thought about what he would look like in tight jeans and a muscle shirt or something (and without the makeup) he had felt his mouth go dry and when he leaned in for a kiss, sparks flew everywhere (_ Stop laughing Lou, I know it sounds like I got it from a rom com _).

He didn’t recount all of the almost comical conversation to Lou, just that he had learned that it was indeed a guy, and he had lost a bet or something that had landed him in this situation. And yes, he was obviously gay and obviously attracted to Will. The look on his face when he had realized Will was still interested had been priceless and when he had leaned in to whisper that he would only follow Will upstairs if he really made it worth his while (he didn’t tell Lou what Nico really had said. It wasn’t meant for her innocent ears after all…) he had almost lost his mind from the way all of the blood in his body seemed to rush to his groin. It took a couple of calls to his manager, some half baked lie about having found an old friend that he would pretend to make out with and take upstairs to spend the night catching up, and some skilled sneaking around to avoid having any close up pictures (although he deliberately let people see and snap all the pic’s they wanted from a distance, that would only make his manager happy and probably wouldn’t hurt the guy whose name, he learned, was Nico. (_ Because he’s part Italian Lou. Italian… do you know how hot it is when someone curses in Italian in bed? _)

He did tell Lou all about the magical night _ (yes, this whole story is like a big cliché, I know Lou, but it is really true, I swear _ ) they had spent together, alternating between making love and talking for hours and hours. And the best part about Nico was that he seemed totally uninterested in Will Solace the popstar. He didn’t know shit about his music, nor did he really appreciate it, which Will actually found refreshing. He was clearly more of a punk rock kind of guy, which made Will swoon even more. He had always had a thing for the bad boys…and tattoos.. ( _ He has tattoos Lou… I’m getting hard just thinking about those. Auch, sorry, TMI?) _

On the other hand, Nico had been all the more interested in Will Solace, the person _ (no Lou, I’m not talking about my body. Or, well, not just my body…) _. He had somehow managed to get Will to open up, and they had debated all sorts of things, like philosophy, politics, the general irony of the world we live in etc. For some reason, Will had never even asked what Nico did (or what he studied, because he had gotten the impression he was a college student). It just didn’t seem important at the time. They had skipped the smalltalk and plunged right into deep conversations about the meaning of life and which Disney movies they thought best expressed, or violated, their world views. 

*

When Will had finished his story, he had actually managed to convince Lou that there was indeed something special about Nico. Even if Will claimed to fall in love with every hot waiter or movie star he saw, it was actually rare that he did find someone real who got to him like this. And considering his image in media, the irony was that the number of one night stands Will had previously had could be counted on exactly two fingers, one of which had turned out to be a disaster, both because it wasn’t very good and because the guy had threatened to go to the media and his manager had to sort it out and pay the guy a handsome amount of money. Octavian, his manager, hadn’t been happy about that, and it was the event that had led to Will’s ban on having guys at the hotel room when on tour. He also had to promise utter discretion and more or less signed contracts of nondisclosure if he ever wanted to fool around on his own time, which kind of made it lose its thrill (what the fuck was he? Christian Grey? He was _ gay _ for heaven’s sake, not a sadistic maniac…). 

But Nico… wow… he had really made Will throw caution out the window. But somehow he just knew he could trust him. He wasn’t the type who was seeking media attention, and his bad boy rep would probably be more damaged than helped by hooking up with a mainstream pop brat anyway.

“So, are you seeing him again?” Lou asked, once he finished his story.

“I don’t know Lou… that’s the problem… First of all, I don’t even know if it’s a good idea. I want to so badly, but I’m also scared I’ll get too attached. I mean, it’s not like it’s going to lead to anything…” Will pouted.

“Yeah, but still… I mean, if you could be discreet about it? Perhaps you could at least have a fling, for now? You deserve it Will, you’ve been alone for too long…” Lou said, a very serious look on her face that touched Will’s heart a bit. He was truly lucky to have real friends along on the wild ride his life had turned into lately…

“I know Lou… but there’s another problem. I don’t have the faintest how to find him even if I wanted to… I don’t even know his last name.”

“But… you didn’t even ask for his number? Are you crazy?”

“Yeah, no… I did. But I sort of lost it…”

“You lost it?”

“Don’t look at me like that… He wrote it on an old McDonald's receipt and I put it on the table. When I got out of the shower, it was gone. Either the cleaning lady took it, thinking it was trash, or Octavian took it, suspecting it was a number to some guy… He was here when I got out, that nosy bastard. I just hope he didn’t realize what had already happened from the way I was limping...” 

“Oh, for the love of Merlin Will, I didn’t want to know that…” Lou hit him with a pillow. “I thought you didn’t bottom….” she added curiously anyway. 

“..._ Merlin _, Lou? Really? You’ve got to stop reading Harry Potter fanfiction” He threw the pillow back at her. “And, didn’t you just say you didn’t want to know??” 

“Yeah, but…”

  
“Kidding… well, I thought I didn’t like it so much, but I would have done anything to keep Nico in my bed… and he was amazing, so I did not regret that decision. Except when I woke up and couldn’t walk…

“Jesus… Well… that’s bad about the number… I guess you can’t ask Octavian or the cleaning staff…” Lou said earnestly, sitting up to take a swig of her coke. 

“Perhaps you could put out a notification on social media?” she suggested after a while.

“Yeah, that would go great with Octavian. _ Hey, I’m looking for a dark, mysterious guy named Nico who has angel wings tattooed across his back and a skull and flower pattern on his very sexy arms, and whom I spent last night rolling around the sheets with. Have you seen him, let me now.” _

“No, stupid. I’m talking something subtle. A hint only he would understand… Just so he knows you lost his number. I mean, he could find you if he wanted to, right?” 

“Yeah, only, I seriously doubt he’s following me on any social media…” Will sighed and Lou pondered this for a while.

“Ok, maybe before… but if he’s at all interested, don’t you think he would start following you now? He must be curious about you too, right?”

“Yeah, if he’s interested… but I don’t know if he is… or how such a hint would even be made?” Will objected.

The conversation seemed to have reached a dead end after this and they went back to watching the movie they were supposed to see, but Will had a hard time focusing. He chewed absentmindedly at his popcorn while his thoughts kept drifting off in the direction of a certain dark beauty again.

What if Nico was sitting at home waiting for him to at least text him or something? Perhaps he would take the lack of communication as a sign that Will wasn’t interested and give up on him? Did the hot Italian even want to see him again? He had left Will his number, but he never even checked if it was even real before he lost it. _ Fuck _. But then again, he still didn’t even know what he wanted. He knew he couldn’t pursue this, not really. Octavian would never allow it. And also, with him touring all over the world and living across the country, it would have been difficult to have a relationship even if he had been out. After all, he didn’t see Lou more than eight times a year tops. So, even if he could emotionally survive having a fling, and probably falling in love, only to have to break it up, it wasn’t really fair to Nico. He didn’t want to lead him on and pretend he could give him something he couldn’t. But still, the thought of never ever seeing him again kind of felt like a heavy boulder of molten lava pressing on his chest. 

He fell asleep that night, feeling like a stupid school girl with a crush, clutching the shirt Nico had borrowed during the brief time periods they actually had clothes on. It still smelled like him, which made Will both a bit horny and a bit pathetic. 

*

“Oh My Gods, I’m a genius…” Lou Ellen greeted him when he showed up at her doorstep with an overnight bag Monday afternoon.

He had just pretended to say goodbye to the fans and to New York on social media, hopped into the tour bus, changed clothes and put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, and hopped out a couple of blocks further away while the bus made for the airport where his manager was going to pose as him from a distance. He was about the same height and had similar blond hair, meaning that from a distance it usually worked if he had big sunglasses and a baseball cap too. 

“Well, hello… Not that I’m disagreeing, but why are you a genius?” Will asked, confused.

“I just realized when I looked at your nice “Bye NY pics…” If Nico started to follow you on social media yesterday, after he met you, you could find him, right? You’d just have to go through the accounts and see if there’s anyone named Nico-something among your new followers. Or look through all of those who doesn’t clearly belong to girls?” she suggested happily and Will lit up like a christmas tree. 

That was actually not a bad idea at all. If he was lucky, Nico was at least curious enough to stalk his official accounts on either Snap or Insta where he was most active. Will might even follow him back, if he had an open account, with his secret alter ego (Sunshineandrainbows - because yeah...) without Nico knowing it was him. And then he could contact him when or if he ever had the courage to. It was brilliant.

*

“Damn it, why did I get so many followers this weekend?” Will groaned as he and Lou had opened his laptop and started looking through his social media. Lou found nobody named Nico or anything Italian on Insta and Facebook and Will also scored zero going through Snap and Twitter.

“I don’t know… perhaps because you posed with like a million fans and they have probably posted and tagged you by now?” Lou said dryly, clearly having no sympathy for his growing number of followers on social media. “Let’s switch, perhaps you can find something I didn’t here…” she suggested and Will started scrolling through the names. 

“Oh God, I think this might be him….” Will’s heart suddenly started pounding madly. Someone named GhostKing had started following the official Will Solace account on Instagram. Wasn’t that what Nico had called himself in that group chat Will had happened to read over his shoulder? He had noticed because that was when he decided the guy was really going for the bad boy image (of course, the skull tattoos had been a dead giveaway too). He switched to Sunshineandrainbows and searched for GhostKing. Bingo, it was open… He scrolled through some of the posts quickly, and it didn’t take long for him to find a picture that sealed the deal. It was Nico alright and Will’s heart almost stopped. Dear Lord in Heaven was he hot in his own clothes. Just like Will had suspected, he was dressed mostly in black (or at least dark, it was a black and white photo, except for his rainbow shoelaces that were in color), with tight ripped jeans, combat boots, a Ramones shirt and an old leather aviator jacket. His hair was tied up into a messy ponytail and a pair of sunglasses were covering his pretty eyes. It was taken in some kind of bar; Nico had a bottle of beer in one hand and was flipping the photographer off with the other. The description read “To all the straight idiots who think they will catch gay if they see a guy with colorful shoelaces”.

Will threw himself dramatically on the couch and sighed while Lou checked the account, somewhat amused. 

“I see what you mean… he is just your type… Jesus, Will, why do you always have to fall for the dangerous ones?” Lou snickered.

“I don’t think he’s dangerous Lou, I think he’s funny… Look at the caption… And if you scroll through the rest, it’s mostly really artistic photos and everyday matters… A lot of happy meals and thick books… he’s clearly a college student I’d say.” Will commented, eager to have his computer back to go through some more stuff.

“He’s must be into photography, some of these are really beautiful…” Lou nodded in agreement, refusing to give Will back the laptop. 

*

Lou was making them a late lunch while Will took a shower and colored his hair brown for easier disguising this week. It was a new brand and Will sincerely hoped it would wash out as promised, or Octavian would have his head this weekend. When they had eaten, Lou suggested going for a walk in Central Park, enjoying Will’s freedom, and then meet one of their old friends at a bar downtown. Usually, Will was euphoric for these rare opportunities of pretending to be normal, but this time, his heart and mind weren’t really into it, and as they sat in the grass eating ice cream, Lou was losing her patience a bit when he was lost once again in his smartphone.. 

“Jeez, Ollie, will you stop stalking the guy on social media and send him a message already…” Lou sighed. They had agreed for his friends to call him Oliver when he was going incognito in public or when they were talking about him or mentioning him in texts or on social media. It was taken from the Arrow’s alter ego, Oliver Queen. Actually, they had been arguing for quite a bit about which superhero he should be when they came up with this plan. He wanted to be Steve like Captain America, but Lou was more of a DC fan, and Will had once been dabbling in archery in his innocent youth, so here they were… Oliver wasn’t such a bad name after all.

“What? I’m not stalking anybody…” Will tore his eyes from his phone and tried to look innocent, but of course, Lou was spot on as usual. He still hadn’t dared press the follow button on Nico’s account, but he had been scrolling through numerous pictures. He was rather private it seemed, there were few pictures of his face and he didn’t have a name in the presentation. Simply _ “NY based. Photography nerd & college student. Hella Gay. Problem? - go away… Will smite any haters.” _

But Will wasn’t giving up that easily. He had also been reading comments from Nico’s friends and followers and he found several pictures of a girl that could only be his twin sister. And yeah, Will could totally see how they got the idea to switch places for a night. The resemblance was eerie. She was thinner and more feminine, but with the right clothes, a haircut and a bit of makeup she could probably pass for Nico, and he had looked exactly like a little more chiseled version of her when Will first met him. When Will found a suspicious comment from a QueenBdA on one of the pictures of his sister and followed it back to its owner’s account he struck gold. It was his sister’s account alright, and there it was - a picture of her and her brother, cross dressing, from Saturday night. It was captioned “The di Angelo twins going out… only; what’s wrong with this picture?” and it had a whole array of comments. 

The first thing Will noticed was the name. di Angelo. Nico di Angelo. Oh God. Such a beautiful name. He just knew he would end up scribbling William Solace-di Angelo in little hearts in the margins of his notebooks at some point before this crush was over like a pathetic eighth grader… As a matter of fact, he felt like doing it right now. It would look sooo cool. And; Oh God again. If this ever leaked to the media, they would be called “Solangelo”, for sure. It was the best ship name ever. Now he was _ sure _ Nico was his soulmate… He still didn’t dare to write to him though. Instead he read the comments to search for further clues. Bianca’s followers seemed to consist mostly of friends, since she didn’t have that many and the comments were rather personal. Either Nico didn’t care if someone found him through Bianca’s account, or he didn’t realize how easy it was, but he was commenting too and the commentary to this pic was more like a friendly group chat. And yes. Will felt like a creepy stalker for real when he was reading it. But he couldn’t stop himself… 

[BeautyQueen] Hm, I think you both look great… But I must say Bi is really hot in this pic ;) A pro must have been curling her hair.

[Valdez999] I don’t know. Neeks is looking a bit less like a sarcastic ass that usual… 

[GhostKing] Fuck off Valdez…

[C_Stoll] OMG, this is hilarious. Wish I could have been there…

[MitchTHEBitch] Wow, Nic… I’m a bit hurt. Why have you never dolled up like that for me? Are you wearing panties?

[GhostKing] @Bi, can you please block Mitchell from following your account?

[MitchTHEBitch] @GhostKing, you know I love you…

[GhostKing] Fuck off Mitchell

[QueenBdA] @Mitch @Nic please take your lovers’ quarrel someplace else…

[Aquaman] This was so funny… and don’t be a sore loser Neeks, if you hadn’t bolted you’d maybe stood a chance. Bi didn’t score until that Solace guy was out of the pic and the fangirls had to drown their sorrows…

[Valdez999] That’s the mystery though… where did Nico go? Did you hook up with someone dressed like that? Would have loved to see the look on his face when the dress came off…

[MitchTHEBitch] God, Nic, did you cheat on me? Now I’m really hurt...

[GhostKing] I hate you all 

One reason he read the comments was that the picture made him freak out a bit. What if one of his fans saw it and recognised female-Nico from Saturday at the VIP party? He had been making out with him in public after all. It didn’t make things better that he was mentioned in the comments (but luckily, no tag). He would have to decline knowing that Nico was a guy, but it still wouldn’t be pretty for either of them. He also realized one of Nico’s friends could recognize him from a tabloid picture of them. Even if it was dark and taken from afar, if you knew what he was wearing... Shit, how could he have been so reckless? Luckily, Nico’s friend group didn’t seem to be Solace fans, so perhaps they weren’t reading the latest gossip… At least, it didn’t seem like Nico had told his friends where he went, which was a relief. 

One thing that wasn’t a relief though was this Mitchel character. Will sincerely hoped he really wasn’t Nico’s boyfriend. He didn’t seem like the cheating type, but who knew? Perhaps his ex? There must be some history or at least story to it from the way the conversation went, and Will instantly decided he must be an idiot. The account was private, which probably was lucky. Stalking his one night stand’s possible ex-boyfriend on social media wouldn’t have been among his finest moments… Generally, he wondered if he was losing his mind. Why did he feel so jealous? It was a _ one night stand _for the love of all the chocolate ice cream in the universe… He couldn’t have fallen so hard for this guy, right?

*

“Hey, Oliver… what’s bugging you tonight?” their friend Cecil asked when Will failed to answer the fifth question he had asked in a row.

“Huh? What? Nothing…” Will tried, but Lou snorted into her beer.

“Oliver is in love… but now he has been stalking the object of his affections on social media and he thinks he might have a boyfriend…” Lou snickered.

“Lou… first of all, that’s not funny. And please, can we not talk about it here?” Will tried to hush her through gritted teeth. 

“Oh, you’re wrong… that is so funny. The irony of you stalking someone on social media…” Cecil smirked.

“Please shut up…” Will said desperately. He loved his friends, he truly did. But sometimes they could be a bit reckless, and right now, he really couldn’t afford being exposed. 

“Ok, but only if you tell me all about this guy…” Cecil teased.

“Not here, I’ll do it back at Lou’s place…” 

*

The evening went smoother from there on, at least until Lou and Cecil tried to kill him by going into a Karaoke bar and doing one of his own songs for him on stage. He was literally crawling under the table. Both because it was so terrible, and because he was scared as hell someone would see him and connect the dots. But at least it kept his mind off Nico di Angelo for a little while. It didn’t stop him from posting a pic on his private Insta though, and unfortunately, this act led him to take another look at the GhostKing account. Nico had posted a picture of himself with an annoyingly hot guy, whom Will definitely wanted to kill, both half hidden behind a small mountain of Chinese takeout boxes. One of Nico’s molten chocolate eyes were looking into the camera and Will just wanted to die a little bit. 

But the most interesting part, the one that made the belly butterflies break out of their cocoons, was the small picture that was inserted into the larger one, the one with a broken fortune cookie and a note saying “Good things come to those who wait”. And the comment read “When your best friend brings you comfort takeout and lady fortuna laughs in your face...” 

Somehow, that fairly innocent picture brought him to a decision though. One, at least the Captain America look alike wasn’t his boyfriend and two, Nico was in need of comfort? Could that maybe, perhaps, although highly unlikely, mean that he was indeed waiting for a message from Will that hadn’t come? Be as that may, he couldn’t keep on doing this. It would completely ruin his week, or perhaps more. He just had to know… what had he got to lose? If he sent Nico a message and he didn’t want anything to do with Will, or if he had a boyfriend, he could just not answer, right? The worst case scenario was that he was rejected, he could live with that (probably). Will took a deep breath and pressed “follow” before he wrote a direct message with trembling fingers.

[Sunshineandrainbows] Hi… sorry… didn’t mean to stalk you. But I sort of lost your number and, well… I saw you followed my official account, but this one is a better way if you want to keep in contact (the official is currently posting images from LA while I, well, happen to be in NY, so…). But, as you may understand, this is not me if someone asks, so keep it to yourself pls? Anyways, I had a really great time this weekend, and I’m here until Saturday, on a relatively flexible schedule, so… let me know if you’re interested in meeting up // W 

He had finished writing just about when Lou and Cecil got back with more drinks and he was shaking so badly he almost spilled half his beer.

“What is it, Oliver?” Lou asked, fixing him with her most penetrating gaze. “You look all shaken up? I know we were bad, but...”

“What? No it’s not that... Or I mean, yeah, you seriously sucked…” Lou tried to punch him but he skillfully dodged, laughing. “But that’s not it… I… may have...sort of… texted him on Insta” Will said, face flushed scarlet.

“Whaaaat? You did it? Good for you….” Lou exclaimed happily. 

“Oh god, what did I do… what if he thinks I’m a creepy stalker…” Will started to bang his head against the table.

“Shit man, you’ve got it bad this time...” Cecil shook his head. “Can I at least see a pic if you won’t tell me about him here?” he begged. Will grumbled, but Lou snatched his phone and scrolled down to the black and white photo from earlier.

“Don’t even say it…” Will scoffed when he saw Cecil was about to crack up. His friends knew him too well. 

“Oh, look, he replied…” Lou said innocently.

“Give me that…” Will practically screamed at her, launching himself across the table.

Lou wasn’t lying. He had a reply from GhostKing in his inbox, and a follow request. His heart was pounding madly in his chest, although he told himself it had to be positive or he wouldn’t have asked to follow him. 

[GhostKing] Hi there… Who would have thought you were a stalker, huh? Kind of ironic, isn’t it…? Well, if you want to stalk me irl, I’d be home tomorrow after six, making dinner… there could be an extra plate with your name on it, Sunshine… Or if you’d rather do something else, tell me. If I can leave Nicole at home, I’d be grateful thou. She’s a real pain… ;)

*

Will was practically skipping around from happiness for the rest of the night, much to the delight of Lou and Cecil who naturally made endless fun of him. Once they got back to Lou’s and Will repeated the whole story, although he had to take a break since Cecil didn’t stop laughing for half an hour when he told him how they had met, and he demanded to see that Instagram post as proof. They were both great friends where it counted though, and none of them complained about him missing the movie night they had planned for the next day. Well, not really anyway, but they wouldn’t be his friends if they let him off too easily.

“Well, I don’t know Lou… I know we may not be hot Italian Sex Gods, but I feel a bit betrayed that our long lost friend is choosing to get laid over watching movies with us…”

“Yeah, I know. But, I mean… it’s his loss really” Lou sighed dramatically ”Tangled and your homemade fudge popcorn are better than any orgasm, right…?”

“Well, if it was just one orgasm, I’d agree… however, if this goes anything like last time, I can expect to get off at least three or four times tomorrow, and there aren’t popcorn enough in the world to match that…” Will winked with a smug grin on his face.

“Oh, God… I don’t even want to hear this. Do you know how long it was since I got laid? And I don’t think any girl has ever gotten me off more than twice in one night…” Cecil complained.

“That’s why I don’t date girls…” Will snickered.

“Well, excuse me, you can’t blame Cecil’s lacking love life on the opposite sex. In my experience, it’s the guys who can’t keep up without so much time to reload before they bounce back that we poor girls fall asleep from boredom while waiting for the second round...” Lou scoffed.

“Well, speaking of getting laid…” Will said, interrupting their little catfight “I need a favour…”

*

“You owe me so fucking big man… Do you know how embarrassing that was? I didn’t even know what to get so I had to _ ask _ which one was for anal sex. I thought I was going to die...” Cecil complained as he threw the shopping bag on the bed beside Will. 

“Thanks…” Will said with a brilliant smile. “And I am truly sorry, it would naturally be a disaster if someone in the drug store thought you were gay…” he added sarcastically.

“I didn’t mean it like that… I think buying condoms is embarrassing mind you. Don’t you think this Nico will be equipped if he’s inviting you over to have sex anyway?” 

“Probably, but I don’t want to assume. We sort of ran out last time and that was a tragedy… Anyway, I didn’t think it would hurt to come prepared just in case. Oh, what wine did you buy?” Will was rummaging through the bag, enthusiastic.

He had been arguing with Lou all day long about this not-date. Because no, it wasn’t a date just because he wanted to bring a bottle of wine. That’s what you did when someone asked you over for dinner. And no, it wasn’t a date because Nico was cooking, and because he had been texting Will about allergies and preferences five times. He was just being considerate since he knew they couldn’t go out to eat. And the guy didn’t want Will to get food poisoning, or he wouldn’t get laid. Ok? And no, it wasn’t a date just because Will was fussing a bit about what to wear and what Nico would say about his brown hair. It was definitely not a date just because his heart was pounding madly in his chest when he entered the house where Nico di Angelo lived…

*

“Hi there handsome… thanks for stopping by, but I’m actually expecting someone… A hot blonde guy I invited for dinner, so…” Nico was leaning against the doorway, flashing Will an impish grin as he stepped inside the apartment. 

“Ha ha, so funny… But thanks to this (he pointed to his hair) and these (he took off the thick black glasses he had been wearing) we will hopefully be paparazzi free tonight, so no complaints…” he answered, but almost lost his cool at the sight of the gorgeous brunette opening the door. He was even hotter than Will remembered and he looked tempting enough to devour in his tight jeans and t-shirt, his messy hair pulled back into a ponytail at the back of his neck. 

“Holy Hades, it’s you… Why do I feel like Lois Lane all of a sudden…?” Nico smirked as Will removed the glasses.

“Joke all you want, but my friends actually call me Oliver in public as a secret name. They thought the Arrow was more fitting than Superman for some reason…”

“That’s hilarious…” Nico sniggered. “Well, come on in Oliver, just be careful where you stick your arrow…” 

Will rolled his eyes dramatically. “Thanks… I brought some wine… I was thinking red since you were making pasta? Smells amazing by the way” he commented and took in the lovely scent of garlic and spices that filled the apartment as he took off his jacket and shoes (Nico insisted that those would only be in the way, which made Will’s stomach flip a little in expectation). 

“Good… dinner will be ready in twenty minutes after I put the water for the pasta on the stove… so…” Nico was still leaning casually against the wall, looking so much like sex on legs that Will had a hard time focusing. Dinner? What was the purpose of that again? Will took a step closer and began tracing his fingers over the tattoos on Nico’s bare forearms. They locked eyes and Will’s knees started to weaken again. Damn, this man could make a mess of him with just one look…

“...you hungry now, or do you want to…” Nico started, but he didn’t get the chance to finish that sentence before Will captured his lips and pulled him into his arms in a deep kiss. The way Nico was moaning slightly when Will’s tongue swept across his lips sent shivers down his spine and made the blood rush past his ears, tuning out the world around him. The only thing he could hear, smell and see right now was Nico. Nico was his whole world right then and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. He had been aching to kiss those soft lips, and longing for those toned muscles, the firm hands stroking him across the back and over his ass and thighs, that soft hair that smelled so amazing of pomegranate shampoo and vanilla. 

“...later it is…” Nico panted as they broke a part, gasping for air a couple of minutes later. He had already started to unbutton Will’s shirt, tugging it out of his jeans, and was leading him across the living room in with the fabric in a tight grip in his fist. 

“Can’t have dinner before you have shown me around the apartment… I especially wish to see the bedroom first…” Will gave Nico a small wink and the other man groaned slightly.

“God, you’re such a terrible cliché Solace. Is that your best pickup line? You are lucky you’re hot…” Nico laughed, but pulled Will back into another sloppy kiss as they stumbled over the threshold to his bedroom. Will’s shirt came off as soon as they had entered the room, and he was not far behind, tearing Nico’s shirt off impatiently.

His eyes were roaming over the sculpted, tattooed chest of the gorgeous man standing in front of him and he almost shuddered with anticipation. He just couldn’t wait to get him naked, to be closer. He wanted more of Nico, he wanted to feel every inch of that soft, pale skin under his fingertips, kiss every flower and skull on his arms, feel his warm, tight body embracing him, and he wanted to be filled up by Nico too, in every way possible, watching him arch his back while he was panting, and moaning, flustered from arousal on top of him. He wanted to kiss him so deeply that they couldn't breathe, feeling his warm, velvet tongue explore every inch of his mouth…

They were making out passionately, struggling with annoying jeans buttons and offending belts. Will was already straining uncomfortably against his pants and his hands were trembling with anticipation. “Come on… off… now…” he almost cursed at Nico’s incredibly tight jeans. “Fuck, I want you so badly…” he groaned, voice thick and husky. To his satisfaction, he heard Nico let out a small whimper at those words, and he pushed the Italian down on the bed, tugging his jeans off, finally. He spared no time, but tore his boxer briefs off as well, licking his lips at the sight on Nico naked on the bed before him. He had been waiting for this since Sunday afternoon… and he had probably never been this aroused in his entire life. He needed Nico, now… He just had to kiss those pink pouty lips again first, so he did. 

*

Afterwards, they just lay panting for a long time, clinging to each other in a tight embrace. Will was stroking lazy patterns on Nico’s back, following the outlines of his tattoos and indulging in his musky vanilla scent.

“I’m sorry if my stamina was a bit lacking… I have no idea how I got so desperate in two and a half days…” Will sighed when he had pulled himself together enough to actually form words. 

“Don’t worry about it Sunshine, It was amazing… I guess I was a bit over eager too, unless you noticed… but we have all night for slow and sweet if we want to, right?” Nico smiled at him, pulling him in for a kiss. Damn, that wonderful man… Will’s heart jumped a little at the sight of that beautiful smile. 

They lay tangled together, naked and kissing, for quite a long time after Nico had pulled out some wet wipes for a sloppy clean up. Will didn’t really know what to make of their interaction. They hadn’t wasted any time before getting naked, but the way they were basking lazily in the afterglow, sharing little kisses and caresses didn’t exactly scream “let’s hook up and fuck”. No, it was more like they were…. Lovers? Was that the word? Even if he didn’t know what to call it, Will knew he was truly and utterly fucked. They should probably break this off before it was too late, right? He suspected (hoped?) Nico felt the same, but none of them seemed to have the energy to care. He didn’t even care to hide the fact that he had brought a toothbrush and a change of clothes, totally expecting to stay the night, and Nico didn’t pretend he didn’t want him to either. They had already spent a night together after all… But still. Accidentally falling asleep in a hotel room was different from planning to stay the night in someone’s home. 

Nico probably didn’t realize, but for Will, it was a big deal. He had never spent the night at a lover’s place before. His only real boyfriend had been in high school, and he hadn’t exactly been allowed to stay the night, and the few one offs he had done had all been in hotels.

  
It was nice, though. _ I could get used to falling asleep like this… _was the last thing that fleeted through Will’s mind before he drifted out of consciousness with Nico’s beautiful, relaxed face next to him on the pillow and his soft snores spreading contagious sleepiness in the room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I let Will borrow my pseudonym in this fic, although I personally identify more with Nico. But I thought the name suited Will better, right?
> 
> I also stole the idea about Nico having angel wings tattooed from somewhere, not sure who came up with it or if it's just a general head canon thing, but in in my mind he has (wish I had too... ha ha, I might do it if I live long enough to have a middle life crisis)
> 
> I also have to say that I agree with Lou Ellen about DC beating Marvel any day (I guess it may be obvious from the way I'm geeking out on writing Clois fanfiction, so...) Now, I know that's not the general trend right now, and all my friends relentlessly make fun of me because I still watch old Batman movies and Smallville episodes while they cry over Endgame... Well, the truth will prevail in the end. You just wait and see people, wait and see...


	3. Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico and Will gets busted, Nicole makes another appearance, someone has a groupie kink and Nico accidentaly names his, well, you'll see...

_ I could get used to waking up like this…  _

Nico cursed internally as his sleepy brain reacted to the feeling of Will’s warm breath on his neck and something hard poking against his back. He blinked a couple of times and tried to remind himself that Will wasn’t his to keep, no matter where his treacherous fantasy was running off to. He didn’t even remember asking Will to stay over, but he probably had thought it was a good idea, somewhere in his intoxicated state yesterday. Because as he thought back, most things after dinner were a bit fussy around the edges in his memory. He was rather unsure if it was due to too much wine, or just from the constant state of orgasmic Elysium or post-coital Nirvana he had been in. 

“You awake?” Will whispered into his ear, and Nico felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as a shudder went through his body.

“Mmmmm… I think so… if this isn’t a dream…?” he murmured hoarsely. Will chuckled slightly and Nico groaned, embarrassed, into his pillow. When did he turn into such a fucking sap anyway? And wasn’t he supposed to be somewhere today? He should probably get up and try to take control of things again...

Both embarrassment and control were quickly forgotten as Will started attacking his neck and jawline with hungry kisses, while his erection kept poking into Nico’s back. He let slip a small moan, which was enough for Nico to forget any lingering thoughts about that he should get out of bed. What was the point of breakfast anyway? And so what if he had a morning lecture? He could always get notes later from someone… Especially when Will was stroking him just the right way and  _ yes dear God, please don’t stop…. _

It didn’t take Will long to make a moaning mess out of Nico beneath him, fucking him spectacularly into the mattress. In fact, they were both so lost in their pleasure that neither of them heard the bell, or the pounding on the door, or the key in the lock… Nico didn’t notice anything at all until he came down from his climax and felt a cold fear mixing with the blissful sensation of the last waves of his orgasm rippling through his body. But it is hard to miss someone violently pounding on your bedroom door…

_ Shit... _

“Fucking hell Nico…” Bianca’s exasperated voice rang from the other side of his door. “I thought you overslept when you missed breakfast…. What the fuck are you doing in there?”

_ Damn _ . He was supposed to have met Bianca for breakfast before lectures today. How could he have forgotten about that? (Ok, so he knew exactly how. His dick had done most of the thinking for him over the last couple of days, and it evidently had neglected to check his calendar…).

“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” he groaned and hid his head under a pillow. “And don’t come in…” he added in a very demanding tone. 

“Don’t be an idiot, I don’t want to see  _ that _ …” Bianca huffed indignantly and Nico changed a glance at Will, who looked rather panicked.

“It’s my sister. Stay here, I’ll get rid of her…” Nico whispered as he sat up and looked around for his boxers. He gave Will a quick peck on the lips and added “Don’t worry…” in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. 

He pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and slid out into the living room, trying to look as inconspicuous as he could. 

Bianca stood with her arms folded across her chest, looking half furious half intrigued. 

“I’m sorry Bi, I did oversleep actually…” Nico rubbed the back of his neck, completely clueless as how to proceed. He usually didn’t keep secrets from Bianca, and he had no idea how to get her out of his apartment without raising suspicion.

“You sleep very noisily…” she said, but the corners of her mouth was twitching.

“Har har... could we maybe talk about this later? I do have to get ready for class.” 

“Sure, if you tell me who you are hiding in there?” she said, quirking an eyebrow. No, of course it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“I’m not hiding anybody… it’s just some guy I barely know, I don’t normally introduce all my hook-ups to the family you know?” he replied, trying to sound casual. 

“So, just a random hook-up, huh?” Bianca said, innocently. Nico shrugged and almost thought he would get away with it for a split second, before he saw her mischievous grin.

“Hm… interesting. So, you just stumbled upon him in your apartment yesterday while you were supposed to be studying and couldn’t come to our family dinner, right? And, as luck would have it, you accidentally cooked too much food, bought some fancy wine and set an extra plate in the case of some hot neighbour showing up out of the blue asking for a cup of sugar?” she said, nodding her head casually in the direction of the kitchen, where Nico was all too aware that their half-finished dinner still sat on the table. “...and let me guess, you accidentally fell and landed with your dick in his ass afterwards?”

“Shut up, Bianca… I’m serious. You need to leave… I’ll explain later…” Nico tried, gripping her shoulders firmly to lead her out in the direction of the door. But it was the wrong thing to do, evidently. He felt her whole body freeze beneath his grip and her lips narrowed into a thin line.

“What are you hiding Nico? Who the hell is in there? It better not be Mitch again… for fuck’s sake Neeks, when will you ever…” she started, but Nico interrupted her with a furious shake of his head. 

“It’s nobody you know, ok? Now, can you please just drop it…” Nico insisted through gritted teeth. He was starting to feel more than a little frustrated. This would probably be the last time Will would agree to come to his place… Wait, had he been hoping for an encore? Shit, this was messed up…

Bianca was not going to drop it though, Nico could see that. He saw her narrowing her eyes, going from mildly curious to seriously suspicious.

“Who the hell is in there Nico? Don’t give me that bullshit. Fucking hell, if that is Mike, I swear to God…”

“Bianca, seriously, you’ve got to back down. I’m not sleeping with your fucking crush, ok? How could you even think that… shit.” Nico raised his voice, a hint of anger seeping into it. “Am I not entitled to some privacy here?” 

“I just don’t understand the secrecy, unless it’s someone you’re not supposed to be sleeping with…” Bianca yelled back, twirling her hair nervously between her fingers. 

They didn’t fight often, Nico and Bianca, apart from friendly banter and their usual competitions. But this time, neither sibling seemed to be willing to give up, and their quarrel quickly turned into a regular screaming match. Why Bianca seemed to take it so personally that he didn’t want to introduce her to the person in his bedroom was beyond Nico at this point. Somehow, she seemed dead set on the explanation that Nico was doing either the guy she just started sort-of dating or possibly one of their friends’ partners. Nico didn’t even know why he got so pissed off himself, just that he felt terribly embarrassed and equally afraid this little display would scare Will off quicker than his latest song was climbing the Top 40 list. 

“Eh, sorry… perhaps I should introduce myself...” 

The yelling was suddenly interrupted by Will’s appearance in the doorway. He had put on some of Nico’s clothes, which were way too tight for him, making him look both hot as fuck and a bit riduculous at the same time. He was tugging a bit awkwardly at the hem of the washed out Ramones t-shirt to make it close the gap above the sweat pants, only stopping to run a hand through his, now golden brown, locks. Bianca stopped short, mouth hanging wide open for a couple of seconds too long. 

“What. The. Actual. Fuck…!” she exclaimed and sank down heavily on the couch, like a deflated balloon.

*

It took more than one cup of very strong java and a lot of explaining before Bianca had lost the look of utter bewilderment and started to find the whole thing rather amusing. By the time Bianca managed to make Nico say goodbye, in order to drag him along to campus, Nico was the one at a loss. He really didn’t know how it happened, but somehow, Will had managed to get his sister not only to swear to secrecy, but also to take down that cross-dressing pic from Instagram and to promise to help dress Nico up as Nicole that evening in order for them to go out on a proper date.

To be honest, Nico didn’t really understand why he had to dress up again. If Will was going incognito as well, with his hair, glasses and completely different clothes - what did it matter if someone recognized Nico? He was still protesting wildly as Bianca helped him get ready for the date in question. 

“The idea is for you two not to draw attention to yourselves, dear brother…” Bianca tried to explain to him while attacking him with a curler.

“Auch…” he swore and glared at her for a bit as a strand of his hair got stuck when she pulled the curls out. “I just don’t understand how me looking ridiculous is going to stop people from noticing us? Isn’t that a bit of a paradox?”

“Oh, Neeks… I’m not saying I agree with the way the world works, but two men on a date still does make people stare. Unless you’re going to a gay bar, but Will couldn’t risk that in case he is recognized.” she explained patiently, batting his hands away as he tried to rake it through the curls. “No touching until I’ve fixed this with spray…” she snapped.

“Fuck, being a girl is difficult…” he groaned.

“Yeah, well, the thing is that it’s difficult making  _ you _ look like a girl… which you should probably take as a compliment, right?” 

“Point taken…”

In the end, it was all worth it when he saw Will’s brilliant smile greeting him outside the cinema. They had decided on a classic movie and dinner date, since Will’s biggest dream evidently was to get to do perfectly ordinary, boring things like watching the Avengers and eating popcorn.

If he hadn’t been a bit awkward in his Nicole-persona, the date would have been perfect. Hell, it was still perfect. It was mostly the little things. Like the way Will slid his arms around Nico’s waist, and kissed his cheek almost in a shy sort of way was just too cute. (And an interesting contrast to the way he had just shamelessly jumped Nico on their previous two meetings…) Or the way they kept flirting, and that they made out in the dark cinema like two horny teenagers. 

Nico also secretly loved the way they kept bickering about everything. Is it acceptable to just buy a bottle of water since soda isn’t healthy, and then drink half of the Pepsi you date bought (certainly not)!? Does popcorn actually qualify as one of your five a day:s? Corn is a vegetable after all, right? And is Captain America or Thor the hottest one on the team? That particular argument ended with Will admitting he had kind of had a thing for Loki - and by the way; didn’t he just look a tiny bit like Nico sometimes when he smirked? 

“I hate you so much…” was Nico’s only response to that, which made him freak out a bit to be honest. That statement was a declaration of love, really, which Nico normally didn’t bestow upon just anyone.

*

Bianca had found them the perfect restaurant for dinner - not so fancy that Will would risk people recognizing him, or so shady that they would attract attention. Nico felt a bit uncomfortable at first with the way he was treated completely different by the waiters posing as a girl than he was used to, but a small voice in his head that sounded a whole lot like Bianca told him it was probably a valuable life experience. Will had a way of always making him at ease though, and he almost forgot about his act once they had ordered and got lost in their conversation. 

“Oh dear Lord of the Holy Cacao Bean, I think I’m in love…” Nico groaned happily at the satisfying crack his spoon made when it broke the sugar coated surface of his double chocolate creme brulée and he indulged in the first bite of perfectly balanced bitter-sweet chocolate with just a hint of brandy.

Will gaped at him, biting his lip and obviously trying desperately to rein in his emotions. Nico smirked a bit in triumph at the effect he seemed to have on his date. Ok, so Nico knew he was flirting a bit too outrageously what with the moaning and seductive eating thing he had going on. But the dessert was truly to die for, and so was Will… he couldn’t help if he wanted to rile the man up, right? And to tease him just a little bit for being a health nut and not ordering dessert…

“You’re not playing fair, you know?” Will huffed.

“What? Wanna taste?” Nico raised an eyebrow and held out a spoonful of half melted chocolate creme. 

“I want to taste  _ you _ , mainly…” Will whispered huskily “But, sure… I’ll have a bite…” he added and closed his lips around the spoon. 

“Wow… that  _ is _ good…” he groaned.

“You’ll have to learn to trust me when it comes to picking out desserts, you know… It’s one of my secret superpowers.”

“Uhummmm… so, what else have you got?” Will asked with a small wink. 

“Well, I’d joke about my amazing skills in bed, but you already know about most of those...” Nico smirked as Will rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop his cheeks from turning a tiny bit pink. Christ, this was getting cheesy. “Hm, let’s see. I can also outstare practically anyone, I used to be a top level player of Mythomagic in my innocent youth, and I know how to play all Ramones’ songs by heart…”

Will looked a bit like Christmas had come early at Nico’s revelations. He had a hunch that he would be regretting this honesty sooner rather than later. 

“Wow, I don’t even know what to react to first… You’re a nerd… I knew it! And you play an instrument?”

“Fuck, I forgot who I was talking to…” Nico groaned.

“Yeah… so, let me guess? You used to play covers with some hardcore garage punk-band in High School… What? Guitar, right? I thought I saw one stashed in a corner of your living room” 

Nico’s cheeks took on a rather interesting shade of pink as he tried to deflect by going back to force feeding Will chocolate, but his amused date wasn’t having it.

“Oh, no.. don’t tell me you still do…?” 

“Well, I don’t know about hardcore, exactly, but…”

“Holy shit, this is hilarious… How could you not tell me this?”

“Would you tell the famous international popstar you’re in bed with that you play in some crappy amateur punk band?” Nico grumbled, but he couldn’t help a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at hearing Will’s enthusiasm.

“We could play together sometimes…” Will suggested, eyes twinkling.

“Please, I don’t know any of your songs and my repertoire isn’t exactly your style…” Nico shook his head in exasperation.

“Oh, come on. Give me some credit here - I am a professional, after all. I know I mostly sing pop on stage, but I play four instruments and I’ve probably done something from every genre imaginable at some point.” 

As much as Nico tried to change the subject, Will had somehow managed to wrangle out of him that his band was playing Saturday evening at one of the pubs at Campus. 

“Too bad you’ll be gone by then, or I would invite you to see us…” Nico said smugly, secretly immensely relieved that it wasn’t possible. Although, when he realized that was because Will would be gone, probably forever, from his life too at that point, something twisted uncomfortably in his gut. He decided not to investigate that feeling further right now though.

“I could always change my flight to a later one - I think I’ve got margins in my travel plans, you know?” Will suggested with a mischievous grin and Nico paled a little. As much as he wanted to spend time with this gorgeous man, he did not under any circumstances want Will to watch him make a fool of himself on stage at some ratty club. Not in a million years… 

*

At the end of the night, they spent a bit more time than Nico was really comfortable with leisurely making out at a street corner just below Nico’s appartement. Not that it was uncomfortable making out with Will, quite the contrary. The problem was how much it felt like a real date, with a real budding relationship and real feelings that were threatening to overwhelm him. This was supposed to be a bit of fun, right? A fling that would last a week at most before Will would leave and Nico would just shrug and move on. Only, that wasn’t what was going to happen at all, right? 

“So, shall we take this upstairs?” Will whispered huskily in his ear and pulled Nico out of his thoughts.

“Hm, what kind of girl do you think I am? Bringing you upstairs on the first date?” Nico joked to conceal his threatening panic attack. Not that this was the time to chicken out anyway, probably. At least he could get laid now that he had gone through the whole trouble with the date...

“I don’t date much, but I’ve heard sex is usually on the table after three dates, right?” Will responded and went back to sucking passionately on Nico’s neck, making it really hard to think straight. “...but I guess we just messed it up somehow and thought we had to have sex at least three times before the first date instead?” Will continued between kisses. “I see no reason to stop now, or what’s the protocol for that you think…?” 

Nico couldn’t help laughing, even if his current state of arousal and confusing feelings made it very hard to focus on anything but Will’s wonderfully soft, warm lips against his skin. Well, screw it… he was never really going to miss out on the chance of amazing sex tonight anyway. Why play hard to get whey they both knew that was about as far from the truth as he could get?

“Come on then, but we start in the shower. I’m not letting you fuck me with make-up…” 

*

“I don’t want to leave…” Will whispered gently in his ear.

Nico was sprawled out across his chest, still panting a bit, and very much in need of another shower. Will was stroking back sweaty strands of hair from his forehead and he suddenly had a very serious look on his face when Nico peeked up to meet his eyes.

“You can stay… I’ve got an early class tomorrow, but as long as you let me sleep a couple of hours I’ll be golden” Nico assured him, knowing fully that wasn’t the issue at hand.

Will sighed and pulled him even closer to his chest, which he would have deemed impossible only seconds before it happened.

“I didn’t mean tonight Nico… I meant I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to leave New York on Saturday.” 

“I know… I don’t particularly want you to either, but it’s not as if you have much of a choice, right? And even if you did; we hardly know each other…” Nico said, trying to play it cool even if his heart was beating madly in his chest at Will’s confession. 

Will was quiet for a while, biting his lip and studying Nico intensely. Nico felt his defences crackle a bit under Will’s scrutiny, but he wouldn’t give in that easily. What was Will expecting anyway? That Nico would beg him to stay? After seeing each other for four days? The mere idea was insane… 

“I know it’s stupid…” Will replied, evidently thinking the same thing. “...but I’m not ready to let you go yet. I know we don’t know each other that well, but I feel like we do. Or that I would very much like to, anyway.” 

“So, what are you suggesting?” Nico asked quietly.

“I don’t know Nico. I know I can’t offer you anything real right now. But I don’t think I can say goodbye for good after this week. Can we… like… just keep in contact? Perhaps see each other again when we get the chance? I would feel so much better about leaving if I knew I would get to see you again sometime?”

Nico tried to come up with a sane response, he really did. Something that didn’t sound too needy or too dismissive? But the honest to god truth was that he didn’t have the faintest idea what to say. Part of him wanted this so badly, and part of him was scared as hell that it would just make the whole thing more complicated. He didn’t have any illusions of a happily ever after for the two of them. They were too different. Their lives were too different.

And still…

“You know…” Will continued, apparently a bit more nervous now as Nico didn’t answer. “...I... I wouldn’t expect you to wait around for me or promise me anything, ok? If.. if you meet someone or want to go out with someone, it’s ok. Really. I don’t expect us to be exclusive or anything. I just want a chance, ok?” 

“Ok…” Nico whispered quietly and pulled Will in for a soft kiss that steadily grew more emotional as he tried to pour everything he wouldn’t say into it. 

He really, really shouldn’t agree to this. It was a spectacularly lousy idea. Yeah…

Will melted into his kiss and fitted their bodies together in that perfect way at the same time as his warm tongue slipped inside Nico’s mouth. Nico groaned.

Oh, fuck it… They could do this, right? 

*

They didn’t speak about their arrangement again, but they did spend as much time as possible together the last couple of days of Will’s stay in New York. Nico even managed to get himself introduced to Will’s friend Lou Ellen, which was a bit more than he had bargained for, really. But Will insisted on going out for drinks with her on Friday evening, and he refused to leave Nico behind.

“Come on Nico, I’ll be going tomorrow, I have to see Lou. And I have to see you too… It’s our last night together, I don’t just want to show up half drunk for sex later…” he argued when Nico tried to suggest he could go out with his friend and then spend the night with Nico afterwards. 

Will only gave him an unamused stare when Nico tried arguing that “You could always show up completely hammered…?” And, somehow, after less than a week of knowing the man, Nico was evidently already being wrapped so tightly around his little finger that he suspected he must have been brainwashed.

_ Jesus, if my friends could see me now…  _ he thought, not for the first time since meeting Will, and gave himself a little mental shake. It was a long time since he had had a boyfriend serious enough to let himself be introduced to any kind of family or friends that he didn’t already know. It had actually been one of the reasons his last attempt at a relationship had ended. He had gone out with Josh, a guy from his history class, for a month, but he never felt ready to take the next step and let him meet his friends or the other way around, which led to a huge fight and Nico walking away. Now though, he evidently thought less than a week was enough time… Or, perhaps it was because it was nothing serious anyway? It was just a fun thing, so it didn’t matter, right? He tried very hard to convince himself that this was the case, only; why did he feel so nervous about meeting Lou Ellen?

In the end, he had to admit it hadn’t been all that bad. She had been really nice and welcoming, but with a bit of a twisted sense of humor that suited Nico, and they actually had a nice time. It turned out they went to the same university, even if they didn’t share any classes. By the time they left the bar he had managed to exchange contacts with Lou Ellen and he didn’t even mind.

*

“I’m going to dream about this forever…” Will whispered in his ear as they moved together in blissful sync for the last time that Saturday morning. “I’ll miss you so much… Miss this so much…” he confessed between moans, and Nico almost couldn’t take it. There was too much emotion. He was losing control of everything. Of the sex itself, of his feelings, of the future… In some desperate attempt to gain control of at least one of these things, he flipped them over so he was on top of Will, riding him slowly and steadily, hands interlocked and eager lips melted together. 

Afterwards, Nico almost panicked from the intensity of it. It scared him, and not just a little bit. How could Will be so honest and open with him? They barely knew each other for heaven’s sake. Although Nico agreed - it felt like they did. And perhaps it was the short time they had together that made everything feel so much more intense? Like there was no point in taking things slow and holding back as it would all be over soon anyway. And perhaps the enchantment would lift with the distance, who knew? Perhaps it would just all fade away to a fond memory of a crazy fling and a week of torrid love making and shameless sex? Nico decided to just indulge in it for now anyway, and think about the consequences later. 

By the time he was getting ready for their sound check Saturday afternoon, he was officially a mess though. A pathetic, needy, ridiculous mess. He couldn’t focus on anything except for the fact that William Solace had been gone from his life for four hours and thirty five minutes and Nico had no idea when and if he would ever see the man again. 

_ Fuck _ , this was bad. Like, really bad…

He should probably turn his misery into something creative and write a song about the perils of letting yourself fall for an unattainable guy. Or an Epos, perhaps? He was sure there was a lot to say on the subject of how utterly stupid it was. 

“You’ve got it bad for him, admit it Nico…” Bianca demanded from where she was sitting on the edge of the stage, dangling her feet. 

“Can we please not talk about this right now Bi, I’m trying to focus here…” Nico responded rather irritably, turning the knobs of his amplifier haphazardly, but without getting a connection. “Fuck this, what’s wrong with this thing??” he swore and gave an uncooperative box a light kick,

“Ok, if you say so… But it seems to me you’re not really present at all right now. Or you would have noticed that you haven’t plugged that thing into the wall… they run on electricity, you see…” she smirked with a pointed look at the extension cord that still sat rolled up neatly in the middle of the stage.

“You’re the worst, you know that right? The absolute worst...” Nico grumbled, but he actually cracked a small smile. Trust his sister to be able to snap him out of his brooding, if only temporary.

“I love you too brother dear…” Bianca smirked knowingly. “But seriously… are you ok?” she asked in a more sombre voice, one small hand resting on his bicep for comfort.

“Yeah…” Nico said, without thinking. He was fiddling with some loose threads in his ripped jeans, trying not to do exactly that. Thinking, generally, didn’t seem like a good idea at the moment. Or talking, for that matter. But still. It was Bianca, after all. She always saw right through him anyway. “I honestly don’t know Bi… It’s been a weird week for sure.”

“Ok, I get that. And now what?”

“Now? Now we get ready, entertain our adoring fans with some trashy punk rock and then I’ll work on getting spectacularly drunk.”

Bianca snorted, but quickly schooled her features into a serious look again. “That’s not what I meant…”

“I know what you meant Bianca. And yeah…it sucks. But I don’t feel like having this conversation right now, ok?”

Bianca’s eyes widened slightly at this unexpected almost-confession. But she knew her brother, and she agreed now wasn’t really a good time. They needed to get ready for the gig. “Sure… but don’t let it eat you up Nico, ok?” she said, patting him on the arm before hoisting herself up and getting to work.

Nico gave his sister a long stare, but he didn’t really know what to say. He knew she only cared about him, which was nice, he supposed. Only, right now he honestly didn’t think talking about it would help. Instead, he plugged in his guitar, struck a few chords, plastered a smirk on his face and nudged Bianca with his elbow.

“Come on, let’s rock this place…” 

*

By the time Nico stepped out onto the stage for the gig, he had almost managed to temporarily push away the flashing images of honey blond curls, freckles, cerulean eyes and electric touches from his mind. The club was bustling with noise and laughter from the many university students in various states of drunkenness as he stepped up to the mic and did the introductions. Not that they were necessary, really. They had played here on numerous occasions, and most of the audience were in the same class as at least one of them.

Nico let the music fill him up, and tried to let himself be swept away by the beat of the drums and the steady rhythm from Bianca’s bass chords vibrating through his body as they went through one song after the other. Their repertoire consisted mostly of covers, mixed with some original works and a couple of rewrites; the most applauded one being “I just want to get laid'' which was a humorous version of the Ramones' “I don’t want to grow up” but with their own lyrics. 

“You know you can always count on me to help you out in that department Nico…” Mitchell called out from the audience at the end of the song, attracting laughter and wolf whistles. Nico rolled his eyes and flashed him an exasperated half-smile, raising his beer bottle in a pointed “cheers”. It wasn’t the first time he had used that line exactly, and it was getting a bit old. 

“Charming as always Mitchell…” Nico smirked, “As a token of my gratitude for this generous offer, I would like to dedicate this next song to you. It’s one of our own, called  _ In your dreams…” _

*

The first person to come up when they got off the stage was Mike, who evidently wanted to talk to Bianca, but had to settle for Nico as she had made a quick detour to the ladies’ room.

“Damn, there’s something extremely hot about a girl playing the bass, don’t you think?” he sighed absentmindedly, evidently completely forgetting whom he was talking to.

“Eh, first of all… I don’t really think girls are hot, usually. And second of all, that’s my sister you’re referring to, so. Gross…” Nico gave Mike his best scowl, although fighting down the smile that threatened to take over his face was hard work indeed. 

“Oh, shit man, sorry. I didn’t think… I mean… Hope I didn’t…” Mike spluttered, pink faced, and Nico took pity on him, letting a wicked grin spread across his face.

“Relax dude, I’m her brother, not her keeper… Although, spare me the details if you are so kind…” he punched Mike playfully on the shoulder with a smirk. He was kind of cute and seemed really nice. Perhaps too nice? Bianca would probably swallow him whole and spit out the bones if he didn’t grow a bit more of a spine, poor guy. 

“Hey, Mike… you made it” Bianca chirped cheerfully from where she showed up behind Nico, and Mike blushed even further. Yeah, he would have to work on that… “I’ll be right with you, but I want to introduce Nico to someone first, ok?” she said, flashing him a bright smile as she tugged at Nico’s elbow to drag him across the room.

“What the fuck, Bi?”

“I think you’ve got a groupie… come on…” she informed him, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Fuck’s sake… I’m not in the mood…” Nico grumbled, because he really didn’t want to be introduced to some potential rebound fuck she had dug up right now. He really hoped she didn’t mean Mitchell. But no - Bianca had always hated his “on again off again, friends with benefits- thing” with Mitch wholeheartedly. She would hardly be so desperate she would encourage it now just because he was sulking a bit over Solace? 

Nope, Bianca led him all the way across the room, away from where their friend group was standing around, toward a dark corner half hidden behind the stage. He was just about to protest again when his heart stopped at seeing two people standing there, almost hidden in the dark. Lou Ellen waved discreetly at them as they came closer, and Bianca turned to give Nico a small wink. The man’s face wasn’t visible under his baseball cap, but Nico would recognize Will anywhere, just from the way he was almost bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet if nothing else. 

“Hey Sunshine, what the hell are you doing here?” Nico asked, going for casual, but he didn’t manage to hide the wobble in his voice altogether. Too many thoughts and emotions were fighting for attention in his brain at that point. Happiness that Will was there, hope that he evidently had changed flights in order to see Nico play after all, but also a bit of shame about the idea of this accomplished international artist hearing him play crappy pop punk. Because even if he made fun of Will for his mainstream pop music, he did know that the man was talented. And he also realized with rising panic that he had been flirting with Mitch from the stage. It was only for show, of course, but Will didn’t know that.  _ Fuck... _

“I couldn’t leave New York without seeing you play at least once, right? I swear it was worth the hassle of arriving in LA at stupid o clock in the morning.” Will interrupted his overthinking with a megawatt smile. 

“How the hell did you even know where… Oh, fuck. Bianca!? I officially hate you so much right now. Like honestly. I’m not getting you a Christmas present this year… Swear to God…” Nico narrowed his eyes threateningly at his sister.

Bianca and Lou burst out laughing and that’s when Nico knew he was in trouble for real. The girls had evidently teamed up against him, and now he was doomed. 

“So, I’ll introduce Lou here to some people while you boys do whatever it is that you do, ok?” Bianca said with a wink and tugged a giggling Lou Ellen away.

Nico was almost surprised at the desperation with which they started making out as soon as they managed to shut the door to the small office they had used as a dressing room earlier. It wasn’t that they had gone very long without seeing each other at that point, really. Quite the contrary. But it felt a bit like it since Nico had already spent half the day mourning Will’s departure. And also, there was something exciting and quite thrilling about the risk of getting caught… Oh, and Will was somehow totally worked up by the idea of being a groupie. Which was kind of equal parts endearing and hilarious, in Nico’s opinion.

“You know, you should probably talk to someone about this…” Nico suggested helpfully, while trying not to moan loudly. He really couldn’t afford looking down right now, or he would come on the spot at the sight of those golden curls bobbing up and down. 

Will didn’t answer, obviously, but let slip a muffled groan and pinched Nico’s ass in revenge.

“This groupie kink of yours, I mean. It’s kind of funny, you’ll have to admit it… oh, god… yes, like that… Fuck.”

Will let Nico’s cock slip out of his mouth with a loud pop. “You know, perhaps you shouldn’t be so mouthy, or I might leave you like this…”

“Oh, you wouldn’t… or I might not return the favour if I ever manage to sneak in backstage on one of your concerts. I promise, I’ll be a good little groupie for you.” Nico assured him, desperate to get Will to keep doing what he was doing. 

*

“So, who’s the baseball cap dude?” Mitchell asked curiously once Nico joined his friend group at the bar. 

“Eeehhh… who?” Nico asked, stalling for time, while he plopped down on a stool and waved the bartender over to place his order. He stole some peanuts from Jason and tried to look confused. He didn’t even realize that anyone had even seen him talk to Will, but evidently Mitch had been keeping an eye on him. Fuck, Nico hoped he wasn’t serious about his offer earlier. He really thought the decision that there would be no more hooking up between the two of them had been a mutual agreement. Either way, he didn’t have the slightest how to explain Will. Bianca was off to God knows where with Mike, and Lou Ellen had followed Will to the airport. Thus, he didn’t exactly know how Bianca had introduced Lou, or if she had even mentioned Will. Although, he did have a vague memory about him being referred to as Oliver in public...

“The tall guy in a baseball cap, hoodie and glasses you were talking to before? The one who came with Bianca’s new friend? She didn’t introduce him to us, but you two looked cozy…” Mitch said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh, him. That was… eh… Oliver. Lou’s friend from the west coast somewhere I think. We met the two of them earlier this week, and well, they evidently came to see us play before he had to leave for his flight.” 

“The two of you disappeared for an awfully long time for some guy you hardly know the name of…” Mitch quirked an eyebrow at him, but Nico thought he could see a shadow of something else flash over his face first.  _ Damn _ …

“Yeah… turns out he plays the guitar too, and he wanted to see my Gibson.” Nico lied.

“Hm, I didn’t know you had named him Gibson… All that time we spent together and you never introduced us properly Nico, I’m hurt…” Mitch said with a knowing smirk.

“What do you..? Oh, fuck off Mitch…” Nico rolled his eyes and threw a handful of peanuts at him when the dots connected. But he had an awful feeling the blush creeping up his neck was visible even in the dim light of the bar. 

Sure enough, both Leo, Piper and Jason burst out laughing and Reyna just sent him an exasperated look. Fuck, they were never going to let him live this down. Not only would they pester him about Will for the foreseeable future, he would probably not be able to even mention taking a piss again without some comment about  _ say hello to Gibson for me, will you _ . 

_ Fuck _ , his friends were really the worst.


	4. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will tours Europe, rumors start circling and a plan is forming...

_ Click, click, click. _

“Look straight into the camera….” _ click _ “Yes, just like that. Lean a little bit forward, into the camera” _ click _ ”…ok… now, think about something hot… like the last time you had sex, or your hot girl in her panties, yes?” _ click _ “Oh, yes… that’s it… very good. Oh Ja, Super...” _ click _

Normally, Will hated photoshoots. And he was especially uncomfortable with the sexy, half dressed pictures and the way the photographers were talking. Turns out, the European ones weren’t any better judging by the way this guy was spewing out stereotypes and sexist bullshit. But this time, Will couldn’t be arsed to care. And for the first time, he had no problem at all picturing something (someone) hot. In fact, as images of Nico’s pale, inked skin flashed before his eyes, he had to fight down an embarrassing erection.

Or, actually, his manager would probably be overjoyed if the pictures showed his jeans straining from at least a semi… But Will didn’t exactly appreciate being pictured as a total narcissistic deviant who got off on having his pic taken.

Still, by the time they were done, Will knew the shoot had been good from the smug smile on the photographer's face as he scrolled through the pictures on his laptop. 

Will couldn’t help himself, he peaked a bit over the man’s shoulder and he almost blushed. Yeah, there were a couple of shots there he hoped wouldn’t be used for the article. One where he looked like pure sex, biting his lip, pupils blown wide and nipples hard under his open shirt. And yes, his half-boner was clearly there for all to see. 

“So what do I have to pay you to lose that particular pic? Or rather, to send it to me…?” he asked quietly, thinking about Nico’s reaction if he was to get that enlarged in the mail with a note saying “Me, thinking about the last time we met…” 

“I’ll tell you what...” the photographer said in his thick german accent “If I can keep it for personal use, it stays out of the paper and I give you a free print?” he suggested, but he froze up a bit and blushed when he saw Will’s look “....not for myself, obviously, but my girlfriend would like a copy of that on her bedroom wall, yes?” he added quickly. 

Will grinned mischievously and shrugged. Girlfriend my ass… If he hadn’t had Nico, this would have been a golden opportunity to get laid, judging by the way the photographer’s eyes were raking over his half-naked torso. 

In the end, he got a digital copy as well, and he couldn’t wait to send it to Nico, hoping to be rewarded with some lovely phone-sex later. It was hardly as good as the real deal, but it had been a month since he had seen his lover, and he hadn’t even managed to Skype him lately what with the time difference and all, and he was getting desperate. How on earth had he survived for such a long time without getting laid before he met Nico? He couldn’t wait to get back to the right side of the ocean again, where they at least had a chance to meet up every once in a while.

After finishing up the photoshoot and the interview he was giving, he allowed himself to have his picture taken with a couple of girls from the styling department, dodged some fans who were hanging around outside the building and threw himself into the waiting car. He didn’t even have the patience to wait until he got back to his hotel…

[To: Nicole] Thinking about you… IMG1382.jpg

[From: Nicole] Fuck’s sake, Sunshine… Do you know what time it is here? Now I’m stuck in the middle of a lecture with a huge boner. 

[To: Nicole] Pls don’t mention your boner on text, ok? I’m calling you Nicole in my contacts for a reason… 

[To: Nicole] And also - Sweet revenge for making me get caught in a pic sporting one myself…

[From: Nicole] Well, don’t sext me with someone hanging over your shoulder then…

[From: Nicole] And what did I do to deserve your vengeance btw?

[To: Nicole] You exist, mainly…

[From: Nicole] Sap...

[To: Nicole] Yeah, but I’m your sap…so the joke is on you… call me later? 

Will wondered if he had gone too far with that last comment. After all, they had decided they weren’t a couple as such. And calling himself Nico’s did signal he expected some kind of exclusivity, now, didn’t it?

Well, fuck it...

But the thing was, in the months that had passed since they came to their little agreement, they had been texting or calling each other almost daily, and not once had one of them mentioned going out with someone else or even being interested in doing so. Quite the contrary, actually… Nico had written that he missed him several times and insinuated they do things that Will would tag as really cute and couple-y next time they meet, so it evidently wasn’t just about sex for him either. 

Because it certainly wasn’t for Will anymore… He thought perhaps the distance would make this whole thing with Nico seem awkward since they didn’t know each other all that well, and what they knew had mainly been physical. Or, that wasn’t exactly true either. During that first magical week, they had probably squeezed in a month worth of dating as far as deep conversation went.

But anyway, it turned out that Will saw things even more clearly without the distraction of Nico’s annoyingly sexy physical presence turning off most of the cognitive functions in his brain that weren’t directly related to his libido. Now, he had a chance to get to know Nico beyond that, through texts and calls, and he liked what he was finding. Actually, it scared him a bit how much he liked what he was finding. He had been joking about falling in love that time, right after they met, when he had complained to Lou Ellen. But honestly, it wasn’t all that untrue anymore. 

They had only been able to meet up once since Will left New York, and not at all since his tour schedule took him to Europe for almost two months, and he was getting pretty desperate. If Nico had been a girl, he could probably have convinced Octavian to give him backstage tickets and let him stay for a couple of days once they were back in the US, even if his manager preferred he appeared to be single to the public eye. But Nico being a guy made it almost impossible to have him visit during the months that were left of his tour. He needed to find a solution to this problem or he would die from sexual frustration before this was all over. And a bit from general heartbreak too, probably. He might have told Nico he was ok with him seeing other people as long as Will couldn’t offer him anything official. But his heart wasn’t agreeing with that decision at all. The deeper he fell, the more worried he got that Nico would get tired of waiting and find someone else who could offer him something real. _ Fuck… _ His life was officially a mess.

There were days when he was really happy with his not-relationship too, though. One of those days, he had woken up from a wonderful dream involving Nico in the shower… Which led to a long, nice phone call retelling the dream to the real Nico and them talking for hours after they both got off. By the time he stumbled into the gym, half an hour late, he still had a goofy smile on his lips. 

“Look who decided to show up…” 

Laura, his PT, was looking up from where she was busy preparing the equipment for their session, a cocky grin on her face. 

“Sorry Laura, I sort of overslept…” he tried to explain, but she evidently wasn’t buying it.

“You got some last night, am I right...? Or this morning perhaps?” she suggested, quirking an eyebrow while she rolled out the yoga mat and started going through the different weights, bands and balls at hand. 

“What, no, I…” Will blushed and probably looked rather startled. Damn, he needed more of a poker face. 

“Since when are you blushing about getting laid mr Playboy-lifestyle?” she said ironically as she started shoving him in the direction of a cross-trainer in the corner. Damn, he hated cross trainers… He was much more fond of lifting weights, for some reason. But the cardio sessions and the warm-ups were always dead boring. But he still chuckled a bit at the ridiculousness of Laura's dry comment. That was one thing he liked about Laura. She never seemed impressed by his status as a pop-star or his looks or anything, no. She didn’t think twice about kicking his ass or making him do endless repetitions of push-ups, or insulting him and calling him out on his bullshit if he tried to slack up. Somehow, she always saw right through him. Will wondered if she might not even suspect that he was gay, or at least that he wasn’t the player type they were trying to sell the media. 

“Oh… you met someone special, didn’t you?” she asked when Will didn’t answer, her eyes widening. “I can’t remember that I’ve ever seen you looking that infatuated. And I’m guessing it’s not me you’re thinking about right now…” 

Will tried desperately not to blush harder, but the shit eating grin that spread over Laura’s face told him he had failed miserably. 

“Shhh….” Will tried to silence her. He looked around them, feeling a bit worried that someone would overhear, but the gym was almost empty apart from the crew and nobody seemed to pay them any attention. “And please, don’t tell Octavian… he’ll have my head… and it’s not like it’s serious or anything anyway” Will added in a hushed voice. 

“Alright, mr Casanova, but that’s fifty extra push-ups for you today. You’ll wanna look your best for the lucky _ young lady _, right?” she said, but with a hint of irony in her voice at the mention of the lucky lady. Yeah, Laura knew… Fuck. She had probably noticed the way he sometimes couldn’t help checking out the odd hot guy flexing biceps next to him. 

Will wondered if he should ask her about it? Or if he should mention his suspicions to Octavian? There were very few people in his entourage who were trusted with _ the big Secret _, and he knew Octavian liked to keep an extra eye on them, or whatever he did to keep them from talking. Will really didn’t want to know… He might have Octavian to thank for his career, but the man was sometimes completely ruthless and a bit scary. That settled it - he would have to trust Laura. And besides, she might suspect but she really didn’t have any proof. Talking to her about it would just give her exactly that..

And in hindsight, he was really lucky he hadn’t asked Laura about any suspicions regarding his sexuality that particular day. Because it turned out someone had in fact been eavesdropping on their conversation… Laura’s new assistant had heard them talking, and he wasn’t trustworthy at all, it would seem. He was instantly fired for talking to the press, of course. But the damage was already done when the headlines hit the tabloids and the speculations began…

_ Is William Solace finally settling down? _

_ According to rumors that started after Solace’s last interview for the German tabloid Bild! Zeitung, the international pop star’s player days are coming to an end. Solace, who has become famous for his Playboy-lifestyle with wild parties and many short flings, has yet to make an official statement, but a source close to the pop star confirmed yesterday that he has in fact met “someone special”. _

_ _ \- I think it’s positive that he has met somebody he actually cares about, Renée Parker, one of Solace’s ex-girlfriends, comments. _ _

_ Parker made a name for herself as one of the few flings of the pop star who has actually come forward about their short and stormy romance…. _

Will almost snorted with laughter as he read the rest of the article. Renée Parker… she was really something that girl. Actually, she was one of the first he had pretended to pick up, and made out with a bit, back before he had figured out the grand master plan of having Lou pose as different hook-ups. He had ditched her rather quickly, and she had taken revenge by spreading lies in the press. Luckily for her, Octavian and Kayla thought it was a good thing, and they let her have her fifteen minutes of fame by lying about having dated Will for way longer than the actual ten minutes their “romance” had lasted. 

*

Will sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to fight off an emerging headache. He had a hard time focusing during the crisis meeting held among the staff. Apparently, there was a debate over if this relationship rumor was good or bad for his reputation. He had told Octavian and Kayla that the foundation of the rumor was probably his “old friend”, Bianca, whom he had been seen with when he was in New York. Luckily, they seemed to buy his bullshit…

“I think it’s a good thing actually. We should encourage it for now…” Kayla argued enthusiastically.

“I don’t know… we don’t want the pining fangirls to give up hope now, do we?” Octavian argued shaking his head slightly while sipping his latte in that annoying way that Will had come to hate. 

Will felt his irritation grow even further when he studied his managers and the fact that nobody seemed to care about his opinion at all when his official love life was debated. Ever since he met Nico, it became harder and harder to accept the ridiculousness of this situation for each day. 

“Yeah, but we also want to show that Will can be serious, right? That he can treat a girl right as well and not just do them and dump them? Or people will start thinking he is a complete jerk…”

“But don’t we want a bit of sexy bad boy rep?”

“Perhaps, but not total douchebag either… Hot, dangerous, but also on the right side of good and evil, you know?” 

If he had had a bag of popcorn, and this stupid argument had been about anybody else than himself, he might have enjoyed the show… But now, he just felt like crawling out of his skin. Or shouting at someone. 

“So, perhaps he should be seen with this girl a couple of times, right? And then they could part as friends and Will can give an interview hinting about how sad he is that it didn’t work out?” Octavian suggested, which made Will’s heart jump. 

Was this really shaping up to be an opportunity to see Nico? True, it would be messy and complicated, but still… And Nico would have to be dressed as a girl, which he would hate. And it would be a problem if somebody was looking too closely. 

If not… _ Fuck, I’m a genious… _Will mused to himself as a plan started to form. 

“What do you say Will, do you think she will play along?” Kayla asked and he could hardly hide his grin. Now, he had to play this smart…

“I don’t know… She probably doesn’t want to come out as my official girlfriend or anything. I think she is seeing someone already, or at least crushing on someone. But, she probably wouldn’t mind being seen with me and visiting on the tour and let the rumour mill do its thing...”

“Hm…” Kayla nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps it’s better if we find someone who will play along for real?”

“I don’t know… I’d prefer not having to lie right out about it to be honest. Better to let people believe what they believe, right?” 

“Perhaps… So, how about San Francisco? You’ve got a couple of days off before the concert. She could visit, be seen with you a couple of times and we could pay for a mini-vacation there for her?”

“I can ask her… perhaps she could bring a friend so she won’t be bored when I’m working? Or her brother? He’s some kind of hobby photographer and he could take some nice vacation pics for us without having to have an official photographer following us around.”

Will’s heart was pounding madly in his chest as he tried to make the suggestion without giving his state of excitement away. It was vital Octavian bought into this without getting suspicious, or Will’s whole plan was going to fail. 

“Won’t it seem odd to drag her brother around? Or a friend? Hardly the romantic weekend the fans want to see…” Kayla was the one to protest, and Will had to think on volley again.

“If he brings his girlfriend as well it would be like a double date? And they could go off separately as well…”

“Can we trust them? Does his girlfriend know about you already?” Octavian narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Yeah, it’s my friend, Lou Ellen, you know? That’s how I got to know the di Angelos in the first place…”

Hell, Will didn’t even know when he turned in to such a pro liar… It wasn’t something he took pride in… But the things he would do to get to see Nico… Now, all he had to do was to convince Nico, Bianca and Lou Ellen about the genius of his master plan. Piece of cake, right?

*

  


Laura, surprisingly, was stricken with guilt the next time Will saw her. 

“I’m so sorry love, fuck… I had no idea such an innocent comment could lead to this mess. That fucking asshole...” she swore, fidgeting nervously with a hairband on her wrist. The badass attitude that she usually went with was suddenly completely gone, and Will felt a wave of affection for his personal trainer. She really did care about him, didn’t she?

“It’s ok Laura, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you didn’t rat me out to Octavian. Now, they just think it’s a misunderstanding so it actually worked out in my favor in the end.” Will assured her, giving her hand a squeeze.

It was true though - somehow, miraculously, he had managed to convince both his managers and Nico, Bianca and Lou that the plan was a good idea, and he was counting down the hours until the concert in San Francisco. 

Bianca had been a bit sceptical, but was reassured by the promise that nothing would be made official, it was only a way to start speculations. Her name wouldn’t be mentioned and her face wouldn’t show up in any pictures. Lou had just laughed at the whole thing, but warned Nico that this whole charade was begging for misunderstandings and trouble of Shakespearian proportions. But Will’s only focus had been Nico’s excitement about being able to spend a weekend together….

Will was ripped from his thoughts by Laura, who looked relieved upon seeing his goofy grin. She carefully glanced around them to make sure they had no audience this time, and was evidently struggling to make up her mind. It wasn’t hard to guess what she wanted to ask...

“So…” she said tentatively at long last. “It’s really true?”

“Which part? That I met someone, or that Octavian would most definitely not approve if he knew who it was?” he said, lifting his eyebrows in a quick gesture.

“Both, I guess… Not that it’s any of my business… but if… I mean… if what I’ve been suspecting is true, I can’t imagine. Fuck… He’s a real asshole, isn’t he?” 

“Who?” Will blinked in surprise. Why would she think Nico was an asshole? It was hardly his fault Will couldn’t come out? Or what the hell was Laura trying to imply? Will sighed internally - this dancing around the subject thing was becoming complicated.

“Octavian… you know? If he’s forcing you live a lie like that…” Laura explained. _ Oh, that. _

“Oh…him… yeah… I guess. He thinks it’s for the best, though.” Will shrugged. That was it, he had all but confessed… but he didn’t dare to be completely outspoken about his thoughts on Octavian either. Knowing that man, Laura might very well be his hired spy… Not that he really thought that about her, but he would believe Octavian to be capable of almost anything. 

Much to Will’s surprise, Laura gave him a warm hug. “I knew you were better than your media reputation Will. And for the record, I think he’s a piece of shit for doing this to you. You should try to get out of it. Have some confidence in your fans - not all of them want to get into your pants you know?”

“Thanks Laura, I really appreciate it… Not everyone is so understanding, you know?” Will gave her a small smile, and evidently that was enough softness for one day in Laura’s world. Two minutes later, she was screaming at him just as usual, pushing him to work harder. And to be honest, he was glad… Not just about having made a new ally and friend, but the way she didn’t treat him differently because of this new knowledge. He would have to buy her something really nice for Christmas...


	5. Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico has a close encounter with some Solace fans, goes to San Fransisco, makes a bad decision and all hell breaks loose. Sort of.

“The new song is really amazing… I wonder if it’s about his girlfriend?”

“I don’t know… it’s not official that he even has a girlfriend, you know?”

“Sorry, but it does seem possible… what with the interview and the rumors? I heard it might be someone he met here in New York?” 

“He hasn’t confirmed it…”

“Well, he hasn’t denied it either, has he?”

“It’s so sad… What am I going to dream about now?” 

“It’s not like he’s getting married… or that you ever stood a chance anyway Chloe…” 

“Yeah, it’s not like you can’t still think about him when you pleasure yourself…”

“Shut up, I don’t do that…”

“Seriously? Even I do that and I’m not really a fan…”

“Yeah, me too, totally. He’s so tall too, I bet he could lift you up and just fuck you sensless against a wall…” 

_ You bet he can… _“Ok, can we please get back to the assignment now? I think I may have to throw up if this conversation goes any further.”

“Pleeaase Nico, you’re just jealous because he’s straight. But you can still look, you know?” 

Nico’s new study group was turning out to be a real nightmare. It was bad enough that he was teamed up with three girls who evidently all had wished for a gay best friend their whole lives and thought he would be even remotely interested in their fashion problems just because of his sexuality. Now, since it seemed like the universe really conspired against him to turn these sessions into his own personal hell, it turned out that two of the girls were big William Solace fans. Nico officially hated his life.

It wasn’t just the fact that his not-boyfriend was the star of the erotic fantasies of apparently most girls, and some boys, between fifteen and twenty five at the moment. He could have lived with that and secretly given them all the finger knowing that _ he _ actually got to touch for real where _ they _only got to dream. But the confusing and highly annoying thing was that they weren’t actually talking about Will. Not his Will. They were talking about some made up person who only existed in the media and on stage. Only, it was evidently part of Will. Not the straight player type from the tabloids obviously, but his pop star persona. That was a very real part of William Solace, but one that Nico didn’t know at all. And it was really confusing him now that Will was away on tour living that life. It made him feel awkward and lonely and very much left behind. 

His friends were also becoming a problem. They had all somehow noticed that something was different about Nico. At first, they all tried to push him to talk, and teased him about “baseball cap dude”. But he suspected Bianca had talked to them, because suddenly they had all backed off. Now they were just weird about it, like it was a big elephant in the room. He still hadn’t talked to Hazel, and he realized he might have to. She obviously knew something was up, and she probably suspected Bianca was in on the secret. Nico guessed she was a bit hurt he hadn’t confided in her. She almost never showed it, but he knew that she was a bit jealous of Nico and Bianca. Not that she wasn’t happy to be in their lives, but they had something she could never truly be a part of. A twin thing. 

Right now though, he had more pressing issues. Why did Chloe think the rumored girlfriend was someone Will had met in New York? Nico tried to think of a way to ask without making it seem too suspicious. He resorted to eyeing the article in question, which lay spread out on the table before them.

“It doesn’t say anything about New York in the article though?” he asked innocently and Chloe gave him a rather suspicious glance which made him focus very hard on not blushing.

“Well, my cousin is a real hard core fan, and she was there at the after party where he picked up a girl and apparently it didn’t follow his usual pattern…” she explained.

“I thought picking up random girls was basically what he did?” Nico suggested, still trying to sound casual, but he thought he might be pushing his luck if he didn’t want them to suspect something was off. Usually, he didn’t engage this much in their off-topic conversations. 

“Yeah, but as far as she tells me… not really like that…” Chloe said, but sounding a bit insecure, as if there was something she didn’t want to tell them. Nico really wanted to know what she knew, but he didn’t dare asking. Luckily, Kathy was just as curious.

“What do you mean, not like that? Come on Chloe, spill… what do you know?” she was leaning across the table with big eyes, head resting in the palms of her hands. It was almost funny how much she looked like an eager puppy begging for a treat. Evidently, it was the thing to do in order to get your girlfriends to talk though.

“Ok, but you can’t tell anyone… My cousin is a hard core fan. Like, it’s a bit disturbing actually. Big stalker-alert… and her lot are really protective of their idol.”

“Okey… nobody will talk, right?” Kathy assured her and gave them all pointed stare.

Nico held up his hands in defense “It’s not like I know anybody who would be interested anyway…” he lied. 

“Alright… so, according to Phoebe, Solace isn’t as much of a player as the media tries to make him out to be. He does pick up girls sometimes, but he usually loses them rather quickly. Nobody stays the night except for one of his old friends who actually lives in New York and who definitely isn’t his girlfriend for real according to all the research they have done.”

“But why…?” Kathy started, looking confused. 

“The theory is that his managers are trying to sell the idea of him being more of a Casanova than he is, for reasons unknown. And the tabloids loves it, naturally…”

“That’s disturbing…” Annie contributed.

“Well, evidently his love life sells papers and all publicity is generally considered good so it isn’t a bad strategy when you think about it…”

“But why pretend? He must have had real girlfriends, right?”

“I don’t know actually. If he _ has _, perhaps he has wanted to keep them out of the media? But Phoebe doesn’t think so. If you’ve followed him all the way from the start of his career, back in American Idol, he was actually really sweet and completely devoted to the music. She thinks his managers are trying to give him more of a bad boy image, and the press just caught on and it went from there…” 

“So, what happened after the concert here?” Nico asked.

“Well, apparently he met some girl who wasn’t his normal type at all, and who the hardcore fans say definitely wasn’t his friend in disguise, and he was completely absorbed by her. Usually, he flirts around much more, but he didn’t seem to have eyes for anyone else…”

“Oh, that’s so romantic…” Kathy sighed and Nico had to fight desperately not to start laughing.

“Well, and evidently she stayed the night and didn’t leave until late the next morning… and he hasn’t been seen with anyone else since.” Chloe finished her story.

“But that still doesn’t mean anything, right? Perhaps it’s all staged too to make the papers speculate?” Annie asked, suddenly interested in this mystery as well.

“Sure. But…” she made a dramatic pause here, making sure she had everybody’s attention “...according, again, to my cousin, he usually stays in New York for a couple of days to visit his friend when he’s here. And he did that this time too, but he also mysteriously disappeared several nights. And he was seen at a restaurant with a girl who was probably the same one as the girl at the concert. And he was in disguise, which means it wasn’t staged for the media. According to Phoebe, nobody managed to find out who she was and the tabloids were completely fooled by his official social media accounts, which stated he was supposed to be in LA…”

Nico was completely dumbfounded at this point. Evidently, they were lucky his real hard core fans actually seemed to like him and didn’t sell him out to the press. But still, it had been too close… They knew way too much about Will’s life already. If they realized he was actually dating a guy, perhaps the temptation to sell the story would be too great. Or, he thought a bit cynically, they wouldn’t be as keen to keep his secrets if they knew that little detail. 

*

Nico was a bit nervous when he called Will that evening. They had made plans to see each other in San Francisco and their only issue had been how to avoid people noticing that Will was dating a guy. He hadn’t really thought about the possible risk that somebody would be able to identify Bianca, who would be posing as his girlfriend/date at a distance. But if they were on to them already from when he was in New York? Fuck, this was not good... 

“It’s ok, we’ll just have to be more careful and make sure your faces aren’t visible in any pictures. And it doesn’t seem like the paparazzi or the reporters knew about our date in New York, or it would have been all over the Internet by now.” Will assured him. Nico felt himself relax a bit. He had been more worried than he wanted to admit that Will would want to cancel. He had basically lived for this opportunity to meet Will after almost two horrible months of him touring Europe. It was pathetic, for sure. But he had given up pretending like he didn’t care. At least to himself. If anyone asked on the other hand, he wouldn’t admit it under torture. 

Although, as much as he missed Will, he was seriously starting to think this whole thing was a bad idea. Sure, the sex was fantastic, Will himself was amazing, Nico may even be half in love with the man already and the sneaking around was a bit exciting. For now. Only, it wouldn’t be fun forever, would it? At some point, he knew he would get tired of the lying and hiding. Honestly, he was a bit sick of it already and the realization they hadn’t even had the privacy they thought they did in New York left him feeling uneasy. What would happen to him if it all got out? He had only ever considered Will’s career. It wasn’t as if Nico was in the closet… but it wouldn’t be about that anymore. It would be about him suddenly becoming famous as Will Solace’s boyfriend. Or fucktoy. Or whatever the press would like to call him. It wasn’t exactly how he wanted his fifteen minutes of fame, if he even wanted them at all. 

Over the following weeks, he lay awake more than once pondering his choices, and it turned into a constant argument between his brain and his heart, wildly supported by his dick, who evidently agreed that seeing Will was something he most certainly needed to keep doing. In the end, it was two against one, really, and as the time drew near for their visit to San Francisco, he had managed to lock away most of his insecurities really deep down behind layers and layers of old hang ups, disappointments and fears. 

Once they stepped off the plane, Nico was almost feeling giddy with anticipation. So, yeah. It was pathetic. But it had been more than two months, ok? He tried to tell himself it was the dry spell. No matter what agreement they had officially made, Nico hadn’t even considered hooking up with someone else while Will was gone. He hadn’t even wanted to. And thus, it was no wonder he was a bit ecstatic about finally getting laid, right? Only, deep down he knew he was fooling himself. His heart would probably have beaten just as hard had Will announced that they would be sharing a room with Lou and Bianca. He would probably have died from sexual frustration, sure. But he would have enjoyed seeing Will nonetheless. 

Luckily, there would be no sharing of rooms with the girls. Will had somehow managed to arrange it so that Lou and Nico (who probably did the worst impression in the history of scams of acting as a couple) had one room, and Bianca had one, both on the same floor as Will’s. It made sneaking into Will’s room to spend the night much easier than Nico had anticipated. Which was lucky, because Nico had been ready to shoot himself towards the end of the first night of their stay.

Since the official point of the whole charade was to make sure Will was seen in the company of a potential girlfriend, they went out for dinner. It may have been the most painful event of Nico’s life. He hadn’t seen his not-boyfriend in two fucking months, and here they were sitting across from each other at a table in some fancy restaurant, not able to do so much as hold hands. The whole dinner consisted mainly of Will and Nico exchanging longing glances while Bianca and Lou were bonding over how pathetic they were. And they were endlessly teased about their mutual state of desperation.

“I don’t know Lou… I like this place. I think we could order another bottle of wine and stay for dessert, right? Bianca said when Nico pointedly suggested that it was about time they went back to the hotel.

“Yeah… and if we stay another hour or so, I could probably squeeze down a cheese plate?” Lou agreed, unable to stop giggling.

“Oh, yes. I hear the cheese here is amazing!” Bianca nodded, lips twitching in amusement at Nico’s death glare.

“And coffee… I don’t think we can leave for the hotel before we’ve had coffee, right?”

“I hate you both, you know that right?” Nico pouted.

“Yeah, if I don’t get my beauty sleep tonight, I might have to cancel that special guided tour to Alcatraz that we arranged…” Will said, tapping his fingers lazily on his chin.

“You wouldn’t… Nico wants to see that just as much as I do…” Bianca argued.

“Yeah, but I think I know something he’d like to do just as much… me…” Will flashed a cocky grin.

“Oh God, you’re just as bad as my brother…” Bianca rolled her eyes, but Lou burst out laughing.

“Beauty sleep… ppffftt… that’s what we’re calling it now?”

In the end, the girls did take pity with them and they snuck out of the restaurant, expertly dodging the paparazzi, which Kayla had been mapping, but letting themselves be “accidentally” photographed by some of Will’s fans with mobile phones from a distance. The pictures would be bad enough in the dark for their faces to be unrecognizable. 

Kayla was riding with them in the car on the way to the hotel, and Nico wondered if she was able to pick up on the unbearable tension between him and Will. The air was so heavy with electricity, it was hard to breathe in the car. Or perhaps it was just him…? It didn’t help that Will sort of started the foreplay by texting him all the things he was going to to him do as soon as they were in the hotel room, while discreetly stroking Nico’s calf with his foot. Nico didn’t even try to fight down his inappropriate erection. It would have been a losing battle anyway. Instead, he draped his leather jacket over his lap, earning a snort and an eye roll from his sister. 

It took them exactly seventy eight seconds to get naked once the door to Will’s hotel room had closed behind them. They could probably have managed it in half that time, if they hadn’t prioritized staying in a constant lip lock. But there is something very special about finally getting to be together with someone whom you have been missing for over two months (and whom you are honestly at least a little in love with). Nico probably hadn’t climaxed that quickly since he was fifteen, just from frotting against Will’s very gorgeous very naked body. It would have been embarrassing as fuck, hadn’t his lover been in the exact same state of desperation and come just as quickly. As it was, they just laughed about it afterwards, deciding that the night was still young, and that beauty sleep wasn’t that important after all. 

The days they spent in San Francisco started out amazing. It wasn’t just the heavenly hotel bed and what went on in said bed, really. They did all sorts of sightseeing, shopping and eating at amazing restaurants, quite successfully (as far as they could tell) managing to dodge both paparazzi, fans and nosy managers. Nico was taking pictures of Will and Bianca from behind that they could leak to the media, and some of Will, for his social media accounts, where a girl’s long black hair was “accidentally” visible in the background. He also took some really beautiful photos of his lover that were primarily for his own collection. All in all, the mini-vacation was a success. Nico also realized that there were some obvious perks of dating a pop star - you could get VIP-tours for practically everything, and you didn’t have to wait for a table anywhere for example. 

There were also some very obvious downsides though - you couldn’t just stroll around in the street as you wanted and randomly stop for ice cream at a café. At least not if you were _ secretly _ dating a pop star… Everything you did had to be planned in minute detail to avoid paparazzi and fans, and you were basically always accompanied by various babysitters, like managers or bodyguards, which meant there was practically no intimacy at all to be enjoyed during daytime. 

The best part of the trip though, from Nico’s point of view, was perhaps to get to know Will Solace, the pop star. He admired Will even more after getting a peek at that part of his life, and getting to know the people around him a bit. Nico was duly impressed by the way he handled the fans, the press, and his whole entourage, really. As soon as their two days of freedom were over, someone constantly wanted something from Will. If it wasn’t choreography rehearsals with the dancers or sound checks or photo shoots, it was record signings or meeting important people. And he did it all with a sunny smile. Nico would have cracked after half a day and yelled at somebody, probably. 

Nico spent parts of the time Will was working doing some more relaxed exploring of the area with Lou and Bianca, but they also got to watch Will’s rehearsals. And he was a sight to behold on stage alright. Nico obviously hadn’t seen him play live before, and he was practically radiating as soon as he got up there and had a microphone in his hand. 

The concert itself was beyond amazing to watch. Nico had been to a lot of concerts before, but he had never seen one from backstage, getting an idea what it was like to be up there with thousands of fans screaming in front of you. And he had obviously never seen a real concert where he actually knew the artist before (or been half in love with them). It was so easy to forget that there were real people up on those stages. Not some kind of rock star robots that were packed away in boxes together with the rest of the equipment once the fans had left. Nico was in awe of the way Will’s voice filled the room and the way he was radiating enough energy to power the whole area of San Francisco, probably, had it been possible to convert it to electricity. 

Nico hadn’t expected Will to even remember that he was watching what with all the focus his performance must take. Thus, when Will turned to where they were standing and met Nico’s gaze in the middle of one of his more erotic lyrics, his heart almost skipped a beat and he felt vaguely dizzy. 

The irony wasn’t lost on him, when he thought back to earlier, before the concert. 

He had managed to sneak into Will’s lounge (although he would hear about it forever from Bianca, who had been assigned to Ocatvian-watch) to make good on his promise to return the groupie favor. He had teased Will a bit for really having a groupie kink when he had exploded in Nico’s mouth after like two seconds. They had joked about Nico not being the typical groupie anyway, while making out. It had seemed hilarious at the time, but here he was. Swooning over a pop star on stage like a teenage girl. Sure, he wasn’t screaming in awe. At least not on the outside..

“When will I see you again…?” Nico whispered quietly into Will’s golden curls as they lay tangled together on the last morning, drawing out the minutes together although they were starting to run desperately late already if they didn’t want a surprise visit from Octavian or Kayla.

“I’m in Boston Saturday two weeks from now. How about you drive up and sneak into my hotel room while I’m playing? I could leave a key with Laura, my PT, and ask her to meet you in the lobby?” Will suggested, making Nico’s heart jump.

“But won’t she notice I’m not a girl? Or wonder why we sneak around?” Nico asked curiously.

“She kind of knows… she figured it out a long time ago and she has kept quiet so far, so I trust her.”

“Oh… that’s… great, I guess.” 

Nico didn’t feel completely comfortable with the idea, but in the end, Will convinced him. He wore big sunglasses and Bianca’s boots and jacket just in case he was spotted by the paparazzi, and he borrowed her car and drove up to Boston. It had seemed like a good idea at the time they made it up in San Francisco. However, as it turned out, five hours alone in a car is plenty of time to question one’s own sanity. Nico knew he was supposed to study for midterms, not spend half of his weekend in a car just to get laid. It was a crazy thing to do, really. But once Will tumbled into the room, sweaty and tired from the concert, but eyes full of desire and a bit of something that suspiciously resembled love, he decided that sanity was overrated anyway. 

“How did you escape so early?” Nico asked from the bed. “Weren’t you supposed to make an appearance at that club after the concert?” 

Will flashed him a sunny smile and started taking his shirt off. “Oh, I told Octavian I’ve got a headache. He’s scared I’ll miss my signing tomorrow so he let me off. I did have to talk to some fans and flirt a bit with a couple of girls to please him though. I can tell you the whole charade doesn’t feel a lot better when you know your gorgeous male lover is waiting in your hotel room…”

“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be flattered or offended by that…” Nico said with a questioning glance at Will. “Male lover… hmmm… Makes me sound like a gay concubine or something?”

“Be glad I didn’t call you a groupie this time…” Will snickered.

“Didn’t we agree that being a groupie involves actually listening to your music?” Nico teased, but on the inside he panicked just a bit, thinking back to San Francisco. Also, if one were to sneak a peek into Nico’s Spotify, one might actually discover quite a lot of Solace hits on his recently played list, but Will didn’t necessarily need to know that, now, did he?

“Yeah, I never really got around to giving you that lesson I promised the first time we met…” Will smirked. “We may just have to do something about that, right?” 

“Sure sunshine, whatever you say. We can just talk about your career instead of having sex tonight. Great idea…” Nico deadpanned.

“...or…. we could multitask? I do tend to sing in the shower, and you’re welcome to join me…” Will said, giving him a saucy grin. 

They spent yet another amazing night together, Will obviously trying to prove to Nico that it had been worth the long drive in every way he could think of. And, luckily for Nico, he had a lot of imagination. When no pictures of him had showed up in the tabloids by Monday, he dared to tempt the fates by thinking they had gotten away with it. 

*

When Chloe texted him with an invitation to have lunch with the study group girls, he didn’t even suspect something was going on. Not until he entered the cafeteria where they usually met and realized the others weren’t there. It was just Chloe and a girl he had never met before.

“Nico…” Chloe said and dragged him down to sit before he could ask. She had chosen a table a bit away from the general crowd, and Nico suddenly started to feel nervous. Somehow, he had a nagging feeling he knew who Chloe’s companion was. And it couldn’t mean good news for him in any scenario.

“This is my cousin Phoebe…” Chloe introduced them. Well. Fuck. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

Not good… He considered briefly if he could just bolt. But that would probably just confirm any suspicions she may have. Or give her some, in case this was a total coincidence (not likely though). 

“Hi…” Nico said stupidly, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. 

“Nico, I think you know why Phoebe is here, right?” Chloe gave him a stern glare.

“Eeehhh…” 

“You, my friend, have been holding out on us, am I right?” she continued, straight to the point.

_ Ok, confess or deny? Confess or deny? Help…! _

“What do you mean?” Nico asked, trying to sound calm. He wasn’t going to give them anything for free. 

“Well, remember the mysterious girl we told you Will Solace had met in New York…?”

Nico shrugged in reply, still refusing to speak one single syllable that wasn’t absolutely necessary.

Chloe gave her cousin a pointed look, and she held out her phone to show a picture that very clearly showed Will and Nico(le) sneaking off to his room on their first meeting. Nico’s face wasn’t visible though, which meant he had no reason to confess anything yet. He just raised his eyebrows and shrugged again. Chloe started to look annoyed at Nico’s general uncooperativeness, but Phoebe just looked absolutely thrilled with excitement. 

“So?”

“Well, remember how nobody was able to identify her?”

“Yes”

“Well, now it seems somebody did…”

_ Fuck _

“Okey…”

“Oh, come on Nico. You know who it is... “ Chloe huffed exasperated and swiped among the pictures in her folder. Suddenly, there was one of him getting out of the car in Boston. His face wasn’t visible, but he realized what he had missed the second Chloe spoke.

“Recognize that car? Belongs to one Bianca di Angelo according to a friend of a friend of a friend who works at the DMV…”

“Is that even legal?” Nico narrowed his eyes at the two of them. 

“Never mind that now… Is that your sister’s car or not?” 

“Maybe…” Nico said hesitantly. He didn’t want to lie, but he wasn’t about to give away Will’s secrets for free either. His mind was racing a mile an hour, going through different scenarios. They didn’t seem to know who was in the picture exactly. That meant they probably thought it was Bianca, which was kind of not as big as a disaster as if they guessed the truth. But still, he didn’t want Bianca’s name in the papers either if it was possible to avoid. Although denying completely was probably only going to lead to further speculations. He had to give them something…

“Come on… how could you not tell us your sister was the one Solace has been seeing Nico? I can’t believe you sat there and tried to sell us you don’t know anything when we were discussing it…” 

“Look, first of all, this is not what it seems, ok? You can’t sell Bianca’s name to the press, please?” Nico basically begged. 

“I knew it!” Chloe whooped triumphantly.

“No, you know nothing Chloe…” Nico snapped, irritably. 

“Listen…” Phoebe interrupted, placing a hand on Nico’s arm. “We weren’t the ones who dug up your sister’s name, ok? I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise you it won’t leak to the media.”

“Shit…” Nico cursed, exasperated.

“But what’s the big deal? Why doesn’t your sister want people to know? It will come out sooner or later if she’s seeing him, right?”

“No, but the thing is… she isn’t seeing him…” Nico sighed, thinking really hard. He had to give them a plausible story, preferably without lying too much. 

Both girls crossed their arms and gave him an almost identical look of disbelief, which might almost have been funny hadn’t the situation been so serious. 

“From what I understand, you guys are really loyal to Solace, am I right?” he gave them a pointed look and they both nodded. “Then believe me when I say that it isn’t what it looks like, and it would be very bad for him if people started digging too deep into this, ok? I can’t tell you his secrets, because they aren’t mine to tell… but you know the suspicions you were telling me about earlier about his playboy life being more or less made up?” both girls nodded knowingly and Nico went on. He figured telling them a secret they already knew would only be good to increase the credibility of his story. “Please don’t sell him out to the press…. But that part is kind of true, ok? Which means, even if it is Bianca in some of those pictures, it doesn’t necessarily mean she has dated him, ok? And if it got out, her life would become messy for nothing, really…” 

“Oh…” Phoebe said, eyes large and curious. She evidently had not been sure of this before. “But why? I Always thought… but… I don’t get it…” she said, mostly to herself. “He seems too nice to be a player, but I don’t know… I liar isn’t much better, really…?” 

“Look, I don’t know the whole story, and it’s not my story to tell anyway, ok? But I can tell you this whole charade wasn’t exactly his idea… and he doesn’t like it much either as far as I know.” Nico tried to explain without giving away too much. He felt protective of Will, but if he showed it, they would get suspicious for sure. 

“But you know him too, right? This is you, isn’t it?” Chloe stuck a picture from San Francisco, where he was having dinner with Bianca, Lou and Will under his nose. It was taken from a distance, and their faces weren’t clearly visible, but when you knew it, there wasn’t really any way to deny it was them.

“Yeah… but I haven’t known him long. Bianca knows his friend Lou Ellen, and she asked us to come to San Francisco. It was mainly for fun, but also to help the rumours that Will might be dating someone. Sorry…” he shrugged sheepishly. This story wasn’t a complete lie, he told himself. Bianca did know Lou Ellen (now). And they hadn’t known each other long, that part was true enough.

At that point the conversation was interrupted by his phone buzzing angrily in his pocket. It was a message from Bianca. Shit. 

“Look… I’ve got to go, that was Bianca. Seems her name has leaked already… But if you care about William Solace at all, please don’t sell him out to the press. And let the man get some privacy once in a while, ok?” That last part he added just because he couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t just personal. He really did feel it was a bit screwed up; the lengths people would go to to follow celebrities around.

“We do Nico… And I am sorry your sister was outed… If it’s any help, we can spread some rumors on the fan site and to the press?”

“Ok… I’ll talk to them and let you know, ok?” he suggested while getting his leather jacket and helmet on in a rush. 

Nico’s heart was pounding with adrenaline when he got out from the cafeteria. The weather was turning colder now, and it had been raining earlier. All things considered, he probably shouldn’t have been racing the way he was on his motorbike today, but it was an emergency. He also probably should have called Will, but the truth was that his focus was Bianca right then and there. And the rush of speed and danger kept him anchored in the present, which was a good thing right now. He did have a tendency to overthink stuff at the best of times, and now he really had a lot to think about. But without knowing more, there wasn’t really any point in pondering the issue further. 

His bike screeched to a halt outside Bianca’s place and Nico jumped off and pressed himself between the small crowd of paparazzi and reporters who had already gathered in front of the building. Fuck, this was worse than he thought… He didn’t take his helmet off, not wanting the vultures to get a picture of him for free…

Bianca was evidently in an uproar by the time Nico unlocked the door and let himself in. He heard voices arguing and the door slamming shut to her bedroom. 

“Bi, it’s just me…” he shouted as soon as he had stepped inside the door. 

“What the heck is happening Nico?” Hazel greeted him in the hallway, arms folded across her chest. “Bianca is almost hysterical… and she won’t tell me exactly what’s going on, but I’m not an idiot even if you two seem to think so…” she snapped. 

Great. Now he had two angry sisters. Just what he needed…

“I don’t know what’s going on either Hazel, please just let me talk to Bianca…”

“Well, let me enlighten you on what I know, brother. She can’t go outside her house, her boyfriend thinks she has cheated on him and broke up with her, and pictures of her making out with a famous pop star are spreading across the Internet… Only, that’s not her in the pictures, am I right Nico?” Her golden eyes were blazing with fury and even her milk chocolate skin couldn’t hide the red spots of anger flaring on her cheeks.

“Shit… I really fucked up this time…” Nico sighed, sinking down on the couch, hiding his face in his palms. He had managed to mess up Bianca’s life, probably Will’s cover too and he had seriously pissed off his little sister with his reckless behavior. 

“Yeah, you can say that again…” Hazel huffed. “And I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Nico. I’m your sister too you know…” she added, voice chilly like ice. 

“I know Hazel… it was extremely dickish of me… I just… at first I didn’t tell anyone. It isn’t exactly my secret to tell… but then Bianca walked in on us. And it seemed like a good idea at the time to pose as her. I guess we didn’t think about what it would mean for Bianca if her name got out…”

“Evidently… but even so… I think the worst part is the hypocrisy, really. You and your fucking Gay Pride Nico? Lying to everyone around you for a guy who is evidently too eager for people to think he’s a good heterosexual teenage girl dream to acknowledge he is in a relationship with you?”

“It’s not that simple Hazel… and we’re not exactly in a relationship…” Nico sighed, but he heard how weak of an explanation it was himself.

“Oh, so you just screwed everyone and everything you stand for over so you could get laid, then? Much better, really” she retorted, voice dripping heavily with sarcasm. 

“Look, I get it that you’re pissed off and I won’t deny you the pleasure of yelling at me… But right now, we need to do some damage control. Maybe if we can get Will to make a statement and deny that it is Bianca in the pictures…” 

“Oh, it’s too late for that, I’m afraid…” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well. He made a statement saying that he and Bianca are just friends. And then, when a reporter asked about the evident making out in the pictures from New York, he simply answered that they might have thought there was more, but they had decided they were better off as friends…” 

“He didn’t…” Nico gasped, his insides freezing to ice. He had probably never felt this betrayed in his life. He just couldn’t believe that Will would do something like that without even discussing it with him and Bianca first. Evidently, he was only concerned about his own career. Nico probably shouldn’t have been this surprised. Fury was bubbling up inside of him, hot and dark. Hazel was right. He had been an idiot - lying to people, throwing his principles out the window, skulking around like some ashamed hetero-wannabe… and for what? For a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere and a man who apparently didn’t even discuss things with Nico before selling his sister out to the media. 

“Fuck it… I’m so sorry Hazel, I’ve really been an idiot, haven’t I?” he sighed, fighting hard against his stinging eyes. Hazel evidently wasn’t fooled, but she seemed to take pity on him and wrapped her arms around him.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket again, and took it out with shaking hands. It was Will, unsurprisingly. He had tried to call like ten times in the last hour, and he had a long array of unread text messages. Nico put the phone back in his pocket. He could deal with Will later; right now, he had a twin sister to make peace with. 

It wasn’t a pleasant conversation, exactly. And the fact that most of their friend group showed up to yell at him at some point during the afternoon didn’t make things much better. Will might be furious that so many people knew his secret by now, but Nico didn’t really care. It wasn’t as if he was to blame, after all. At least not solely. He told nobody, but they had all been there on the night of the bet and they knew very well who it was in the pictures that had leaked. It was probably a miracle they hadn’t seen any of them before, but none of them were particularly interested in Will Solace’s love life. Correction; they _ hadn’t been _ very interested… 

Now, they made him tell the whole story, and although they were all upset, especially on Bianca’s behalf, they promised not to tell anyone about Will’s preferences. Even if Nico was mad at Will right now, he knew deep down he was as much to blame in all this, and being a dick to Will as well wouldn’t help. Things would blow over and people would forget about Bianca in a couple of days, or weeks at worst. The only person Nico felt he had to speak to was Mike. He hoped Will would understand… And Mike could probably be trusted. Well. Possibly. It had to be done, anyway.

It wasn’t until late that evening, when he was alone in his apartment with a bottle of wine, that he managed to scrape together the courage and energy to look at his unanswered messages. 

As predicted, they were all from Will, telling him he was sorry and urging him to call. Nico poured himself a glass of Merlot and considered whether he had the strength to do so or not. 

Perhaps he owed Will the chance to explain himself. There might be a really good explanation after all, right? Although in his heart he knew there wouldn’t be. Not beyond the usual “I have a contract...”, “Octavian says...” “I want to tell people as much as you do, but…” etcetera. And Nico didn’t need to hear that. He also didn’t need to hear Will’s voice, because it would hurt too much. He knew he had to end things with him, and it would be a fucking mess. Because if he was honest with himself; deep down under all the anger and hurt, he knew he was very much in love with William Solace. 

Well, as the goddess of victory probably never, ever said: Just Do It...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this, but the drama starts here... Also, I'm not a hundred percent happy with this chapter, especially not the concert-part, but I gave up on it a bit and drew an illustration instead. Well... It didn't turn out at all the way I wanted to; I'm completely new to fanart and relatively new to digital painting. I was aiming for a flat sort of cartoony style, which I love when other people do, but I can't seem to stop painting when I get going so it turned out mainly as a style disaster. Oh, hazards of studying the traditional arts I guess? I had to start a whole new blog on Tumblr just to be able to insert the bloody image into the fanfic though (didn't want to post it to my web-portfolio as it is so far off from anything i normally paint, and also. I'm trying to be incognito here, so yeah...) Anyways, perhaps I should just keep practicing fanart? I might even post some stuff about my writing and other creative efforts on the new blog, who knows?
> 
> (The blog url is https://thesunshineandrainbowsblog.tumblr.com/ but it's really, really empty at the moment :))


	6. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will Solace goes through a rough patch. (Understatement of the century...)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's getting a bit angsty now folks... So sorry about this, poor Will.
> 
> **Trigger warning**
> 
> There are mentions of underage sex and possible sexual abuse happening (to other people, not our characters) in this chapters.
> 
> Also, mentions of other people being bigoted assholes. So, people are dicks, what else is new? Still sorry though...
> 
> ***

Normally, William Solace was a happy, content sort of guy, who always had a sunny smile to offer anyone who needed it, and some who didn’t. It wasn’t often he let people or situations get him down. He had faced growing up as a closeted gay teenager in a bigoted small town in the South with a (mostly) shrug and a smile. He had taken bad media and jealous competitors coming after him for all kinds of reasons during his short career as a pop star with an exasperated shake of his head and another smile. His philosophy was normally that things tended to settle down eventually if you only let them, and if people had a problem with him it was mainly their problem.

Someone had told him once that “nobody can get you down without your permission” or something wise like that, and he tried to remember that piece of advice every day. It was a survival strategy when you were a celebrity, really, and it helped him get through bad reviews, haters in the comments, people who tried to screw him over and managers and supervisors who were jerks to him. He had survived break-ups before (at least one, that counts right?), and lovers trying to go to the press to sell him out. It wasn’t funny, but he never allowed himself to sulk for much more than a couple of days when bad shit happened. 

To be fair, life had been rather good to him so far, so he never had to handle anything really traumatic or depressing. Which was probably why he completely lacked all sorts of strategies to deal with it when it did. 

And, as it turned out, losing what was possibly the love of his life was  _ really _ depressing. If he had only known the break up was only the beginning of the shitstorm coming his way...

Will lay on the bed of a large hotel room, staring up into the roof. He wasn’t exactly sure where they were and he frankly didn’t even care. He had spent way too much time in this state over the last couple of weeks. He skipped work out sessions, he skipped meals and he even overslept a record signing. He barely managed to muster the energy to go up on stage every other evening, and Octavian was furious with him. His performances were seriously lacking, and he couldn't stomach to flirt convincingly with girls afterwards, or even be nice to his fans. He had started to hate it all. His managers, the whole showbiz generally, and his entire life, really. 

He had seen the breakup with Nico coming the instant Bianca’s name got out. And especially after his dickhead manager had issued a statement in his name to confirm that it was her in the picture. Basically, he had known he had the choice between coming out and risking his contract and his career or Nico leaving him, before they even had the talk. And he had chosen wrong. He knew that now. Losing Nico was much harder than he had imagined, and he had imagined it to be pretty bad. He didn’t even know if it was just about Nico, or if it was the charade in general too that was just getting old. Somewhere along the line, he had lost the joy of being an artist altogether. What was the fucking point if he could never even have a real relationship? If he could never be honest to his fans and true to himself? Fuck, he had been such a pushover! 

He was constantly mulling over things that he could have done differently, and he cried a lot too. Lou was worried about him, Kayla and Laura too. But he hadn’t felt like talking about it, really. There wasn’t much to say. He met a great guy. He fell in love. He fucked it up. End of story. 

Will was ripped from his brooding state and jolted back to the present by a sharp knock on the door. 

_ Go away…  _ he thought. “Come in” he said instead, with a small sigh. It was Kayla, and she didn’t look happy.

“Will… I’ve got some bad news”

“No thanks…” 

Will didn’t really need more bad news. As if Nico leaving him wasn’t enough, he had received some bad media lately. There were rumours about a mental breakdown, and Bianca’s name was popping up as a possible reason. He didn’t need that for several reasons, but mainly because it would make Nico even more determined in his opinion that it was for the best that they stopped seeing each other. Last night, he had finally dared to go out on social media, but that only led him to Nico’s Insta (because apparently he was a masochist now too) and the realization that he had started seeing other people. Not that he had posted anything incriminating, really. But a picture of what was evidently an all you can eat ice-cream buffet, and a large coupe with two spoons in it had drawn his attention. Yeah, so maybe he was stalking Nico a tiny bit by reading the comments, but he had to know, ok? And sure enough, some idiot named Paolo had written “I had a great time, hope I will see you again soon for more ...dessert... Paolo xo” and a stupid heart smiley. Who even wrote shit like that? Was he a teenage girl? Well, fuck him and fuck Nico too if three weeks was all it had taken for him to forget about Will. 

“Will…” Kayla said in a soothing voice and sat down next to him on the bed, her eyes full of pity. “I know you’re going through a rough patch right now… but…” she started, but halted and gave him another look when he let slip a humorless snort.

“I’m not stupid Will, I think I know what’s going on, even if Octavian is apparently almost stupidly oblivious…” she said and he froze with fear.  _ How did she..? _

“I’m your social media manager, remember? It’s my job to stalk you online… and I do follow your secret accounts too. And I check out the people who comment. And that’s how I know that a certain hottie with rainbow colored shoelaces, who looks suspiciously like his sister, probably isn’t really Lou Ellen’s boyfriend, since he’s very openly gay. And I can imagine the rest of the story, really.”

Will just gaped. How long had she known? 

“But that’s not the issue here Will. Your secret is safe with me for now. We have bigger problems. I need you to snap out of this wallowing-in-misery-thing you’ve got going here if we are to save your career, ok?” 

“I don’t even want to know what the fuck happened this time… but I guess I don’t have a choice, right?” 

“Sorry Will, I really hate to do this to you right now. But this is a storm that won’t blow over by itself I’m afraid… We have an emergency meeting with Octavian right now. And I know you might be tempted to tell him about… certain secret meetings, ok? But please wait a bit and think first before we do anything rash?”

“Ok, bring it on…”

“Ok…” she took a deep breath in order to brace herself for what was coming and spoke. “So, there’s this girl who claims you had sex with her…”

“Sounds familiar…” Will said sarcastically, but he feared that wasn’t the end of the story.

“Yeah, but this one is under age. Evidently, she’s only fourteen…”

“Shit... But can’t we just sue for slander or something? She can’t have any sort of proof, right?“

“Well, evidently, she didn’t go to the media herself. Her father found a pregnancy test and she confessed she had slept with you after a long interrogation and a lot of pressure from him. It’s unfortunately a very believable story. She’s got several witnesses confirming she was missing for at least an hour after the concert in Boston, and that she was shaken and behaved weird afterwards. There are even speculations whether she had been drugged, too…”

“Yeah, but…”

“...and, to make matters worse, you are caught on film flirting with her before you claimed you had a headache and disappeared from the club, around the same time as her friends lost track of her.” 

“Shit…”

“You could say that again… Look, I know you obviously didn’t do this Will. But there are enough incriminating coincidences for them to press charges. And even if they won’t be able to get you convicted without a confession or some other evidence, it’s enough for the media to feast upon.”

“You realize I do have an alibi, right?”

“I suspected as much… but that’s why I wanted to talk to you first. I think we should see if we could get you out of this mess without confessing to Octavian that you broke the contract first, ok? If he finds out you had a guy in your room he can theoretically cut you off, you know that, right? And let’s face it - you’ve been causing a lot of trouble for him lately…”

“Fuck…” Will sighed. This was a mess, alright…

“I’ll try to talk him into letting you come out instead Will, but it’s best if you don’t piss him off… Even Octavian has to admit that you being gay is a pretty good defence, with our without an alibi for that particular night, but if he’s too mad he might choose to pull back Apollo’s support from you instead…”

“Thank you Kayla, you really are the best…” Will managed a small smile for his social media manager. At least, somewhere in this mess, it seemed he had found another friend. 

*

“Lou, thank God you’re here…” Will wrapped his arms around his best friend and let the tears flow into her comforting shoulder. For a long, long time, they just sat there, curled up on Will’s couch in the barely furnished apartment that was supposed to be his home but didn’t feel like it at all. 

“Of course I’m here darling…” Lou whispered into his hair, stroking him gently. 

“Can we just… I don’t know… watch a movie or something? And talk later?” Will suggested and Lou just nodded.

This was the best thing with Lou Ellen. She never demanded explanations or details and she was ok with just being there for him when he needed her. She knew most of what had happened anyway, and she probably already suspected exactly what was going through his mind. 

Long after the movie had ended, and the sun had started to set over the ocean outside of his window, Will finally asked the only thing he wanted to know right now.

“You haven’t talked to him, have you?” 

“Will, Nico obviously knows you didn’t do this…” she said simply.

The most important thing was that Lou didn’t scold him for caring more about Nico’s opinion than about the lawsuit or even the press right now. The irony was that he had fucked up his relationship with the only man he had ever really loved  _ like that  _ in order to protect his goddamn reputation, and now it was ruined anyway. Karma, right? This was what he deserved for lying to his fans for such a long time…

And now, knowing Octavian was prepared to let people believe he had sexually abused a fourteen year old rather than having them know he was gay, he just wanted to tell them all to go fuck themselves. It might be completely out of character for him, but right now he was furious with everything and everyone. Except perhaps Lou Ellen…

“So…” Lou Ellen asked cautiously, putting a mug of steaming hot chocolate with marshmallows on the coffee table in front of him “...is it time to come out, I wonder?”

He knew the question was coming. Even his parents had called and actually officially supported that idea once the story had leaked to the media.  _ At least they would rather have a gay son than a rapist one… _ he had thought, rather cynically. 

“I don’t know Lou… Octavian says it’s better to let this blow over. There’s no way I’ll get convicted since all the evidence is circumstantial, and people will believe what they believe anyway.”

“Seriously!?” Lou almost choked on a marshmallow in astonishment.

“Yeah, I mean… Kayla isn’t so sure. She argues that it might be better for me to come out, but Octavian thinks my being gay will only make it worse. Then young boys will come forth instead and accuse me of raping them, and that would be worse since bigoted idiots think all homosexuals are sexual deviants…”

“What the actual Hades? You can’t seriously believe this bullshit, right?” Lou said, eyes wide and incredulous. 

“I don’t know what to believe anymore Lou…” Will shook his head and the tears started streaming again. “Evidently, a lot of people are prepared to believe me capable of more or less forcing myself on someone who is barely more than a child just because I’ve been seen with girls in the tabloids before. I mean, why would I have to resort to drugging someone in order to get laid? It doesn’t even make any sense. But it doesn’t stop the hyenas from coming after me like some weak prey…” 

“What does your lawyer think?” Lou asked bluntly.

“Well…” Will knew this wouldn’t sit well with Lou, but he couldn’t lie to her. “She doesn’t exactly know I’m gay… I told her I have no alibi for the evening since I don’t want to drag Nico into this mess. Also, Octavian doesn’t want us to play the gay card generally and he doesn’t know Nico was there that night. If he knew, he could sue me for breaking my contract instead, and then I would lose everything…” 

“Oh, Will… I can’t believe you’ll still listen to him!? I think you should at least tell your lawyer in confidence. I mean, perhaps she can check if that contract even holds? I’ve always thought it seems fishy. And that it could force you to lie in court? I don’t think there are such contracts…” 

“I’ll think about it Lou, ok. It’s not like I’m happy with Octavian or any of this shit right now. I just don’t want to panic and do something I’ll regret later… I don’t know if coming out because of this is such a good idea, you know? It will make it seem like a cover up even if all of Octavian’s worst case scenarios don’t play out. And as long as I have Apollo’s support, they can help me sort this mess out. If Octavian turns against me, I don’t know what will happen.”

“Jesus, Will… this is worse than I imagined…” Lou muttered, more to herself, really. 

“I have to make a phone call…” she added, and left him sitting there, feeling a bit confused. And very much alone.

_ Oh, what else is new? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late (and short) post, my work schedule had been crazy this week. But now it's weekend. Yay! (At least for me...) 
> 
> The next chapter will be coming up very soon, as it's really the other half of this one. Only, I split it in two because I realized I needed Nico's PoV on some things. Just have to finish proofreading it basically and it will probably be up later today, or tomorrow at the latest!


	7. Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico and the fan girls unite to save the day... Also, there's a fair amount of pining going on...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, trigger warning in this chapter as well for mentions of sexual assault (nothing descriptive) 
> 
> ***

Nico was really trying to focus on his essay. He was. He closed his eyes and placed his fingers on the keyboard of his laptop, praying silently for inspiration. Not a single acceptable sentence came into his mind. Fuck, this was a disaster. Probably the worst writers block he had ever experienced… He sighed and let his mind wander, his eyes drifting slightly out of focus, taking in the heavy rain that was sweeping the sidewalks clean outside of the warmth of the coffee shop. The water streamed down the window, forming little irregular patterns on its way. But even that didn’t bring any kind of poetic epiphany to Nico’s mind. 

He reached for his pumpkin spice latte, his face scrunching up in a small grimace as he took a sip. It had way too much sugar. Disgustingly sickly sweet. Who had even invented this rubbish, and why had nobody sued yet? It was an insult to coffee. That much was clear. Why on earth had he ordered this horror? _ _

_ Because Will likes it...  _ the depths of his mind supplied unhelpfully. He desperately raked his brain, struggling for something else to focus on. Anything would do, really. Because he didn’t want to think about  _ him _ . He had done everything in his power not to let his mind drift there over the last couple of weeks. It was too painful, ok? So what if he snapped at this friends if they mentioned  _ him _ , or took detours around campus to avoid running into Lou Ellen, bolted out of stores that played  _ his _ music and completely avoided checking social media accounts or going into any type of establishment that sold tabloids? It was a completely normal and logical way to behave after a break up, right? He just needed some space, that was all. He wasn’t going insane...

At that moment, the bell tinkled above the door and Jason shuffled into the safety of the coffee shop, hiding under the hood of his jacket, but still looking very much like a drenched cat. 

“Gods, I need something hot...” he complained, hands shaking from the cold as he slid into the seat across from Nico.

“You can have this, if you can stomach it…” Nico offered generously and pushed the offending drink across the table.

“Since when do you drink..?” Jason started.

“Not. One. Word. I’m getting an espresso. You want something else?” Nico interrupted him as he closed the laptop and got to his feet. 

“Thanks man. So, what’s up?” Jason asked as Nico put his coffee and the apple pie he had ordered down on the table in front of him.

“Not much. Trying to finish my essay…”

“Ah. Writer’s block again?”

“Sort of… Just a general lack of inspiration I guess. Everything just seems pointless.”

“Oh… perhaps if you..”

“Nope.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“Don’t need to, I have placed a moratorium on your ideas.”

“Come on, Paolo wasn’t that bad?” 

“It was the _worst_ _date_ I have ever been on. And that doesn’t even take into account that I didn’t even _want_ a date in the first place. I would rather spend an evening playing Bingo in a nursing home, simultaneously listening to Country Music than going out with him again.”

“He loved you. Can’t stop talking about you, really…”

“Not helpful. And I’ll leave it to you to explain to him why he won’t ever see me again.”

“Come on, that’s not fair..”

“Not fair? You promised me, and I quote on this, that if I agreed to go out with that poor guy from your history class, who is new in town and all alone, you would stop bugging me about how I need to talk about the break-up... Aaaand you promised that if I didn’t like the guy, I wouldn’t have to speak to him ever again. So.” 

“What’s not to like? He’s smart, handsome, nice… Just what you need to get over your..”

“Stop right there. We’re not talking about that. And no. Paolo was mushy, clingy, had no sense of humor, he thought Sleeping with Sirens was a Disney movie, he doesn’t like zombies  _ or _ superheroes, he ate my ice cream and he sent me smiley, kissy faces on Instagram. He wouldn’t be a keeper even if I was in the market for a rebound. Sorry.” He shuddered a bit at the memory and made a face at Jason, who sighed and shook his head in defeat. 

Nico’s rant was interrupted before Jason could step in and defend his new friend though, by Piper and Bianca, whom Jason most likely had texted and revealed their whereabouts while Nico was getting drinks. The traitor.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his sister, not at all. But the thing was; she was the only one he couldn’t really force to drop the unpleasant subject of Will Solace. After all, she had been caught in the middle of the shit storm, and Nico owed her. Things had settled down rather quickly at first, the reporters and paparazzi losing interest and leaving her building after a couple of days. But last week, speculations about the pop star having a potential mental break down started to pop up, and Bianca’s name was all over the place again. That was when Nico had refused to even watch the news anymore. Or read the papers. He didn’t want to hear about it. Not because he felt guilty. Nope. Not guilty. It wasn’t his fault, after all, right? Will was the one in the wrong here. He was (almost) sure about that. 

Ok, so Nico had known he wasn’t out. And wasn’t allowed to date men. He had sort of known what he had been doing when he had agreed to pose as Bianca. And he had done it willingly. But it was Will’s fault that Bianca’s name had leaked. Ok, so that wasn’t true either. That was sort of all on Nico for forgetting the stupid license plates could be tracked. But. Will  _ was  _ the one who had confirmed he knew Bianca in the press without even discussing it with Nico first. 

_ Ha _ . All his fault.

That was a valid reason to completely ignore one’s ex-lover, and refuse to answer his texts or acknowledge any of his pleas for forgiveness, right? 

Probably not. Fuck. Nico was being a dick. So, what else is new? Will had been going into this not-relationship knowing about  _ that _ , right?

“Nico…” Bianca interrupted his internal rant and he glared at her a bit, just in case. He did think he knew what was coming, after all.

“Have you heard?”

“What?”

“About Will… something really horrible has happened…” Bianca announced, making Nico’s insides freeze with dread.  _ Oh, God. Don’t let him be hurt… _ His heart pounded madly as he gave his sister a pleading look. He hadn’t wanted to be reminded about Will, but if something bad had happened, he needed to know. 

“Oh… he’s not hurt.” She assured him when she saw his look and realized what he must be thinking. Nico’s felt his shoulders sink as the tension was seeping from his body. But he still hadn’t really come down from his adrenaline rush as Bianca started to explain about the rumors in the press. Things were rather vague, apparently, and different versions of the story existed. But they all claimed that Will had been accused of having sex with an underage girl, possibly involving drugs or some kind of dubious consent. So far, it was unclear if any charges had been pressed against him, or if it was just a media debacle, but it wasn’t pretty.

“Lou Ellen has tried to call you. Repeatedly, Nico. I think it’s kind of important that you get back to her, even if you still don’t feel like talking to Will.”

“What am I supposed to do about it?” Nico protested. Sure, his first instinct had been to call Will. Or rather, to hop in a car and drive wherever Will was right now and hug him. Shit, when did he become so sappy? And would Will even want his comfort right now? He had acted a bit like a jerk, after all. And Will probably had enough on his plate without worrying about getting caught seeing his “male lover” by his manager… Fuck, this was a mess.

“Oh, Nico for heaven’s sake…” Bianca threw her hands in the air dramatically. “First of all, he’s obviously in love with you and he has been feeling like shit about your breakup. He could need your support…”

“What? How do you know this? And aren’t we angry with him for throwing you under the tabloid-bus like that?”

Bianca rolled her eyes so hard Nico was afraid something would break in her face. “I talk to Lou Ellen, ok? And that’s how I also know he wasn’t the one who “confirmed” our friendship to the press in the first place. It was his manager. And then Will panicked when a reporter stuck a mic in his face and asked about the pictures of us, well, you and him, kissing… He never wanted my name to come out, you know?”

“Oh.”

“Exactly.”

“So, why didn’t you tell me…”

“Please Nico…” Bianca laughed without humor “...you haven’t allowed anyone to mention his name around you. I figured you needed some time, you know? But this isn’t just about you anymore. He might need your help”

“How?” 

“Well, you could be a potential witness, for starters. If he decides to come out to prove his innocence? I’m not sure, exactly. But I know Lou Ellen very much wants to talk to you about it. She’s worried… And she didn’t do anything to you, mind. There’s no reason to be a dick to her.” 

Nico chewed his lip a bit while he thought all this over. As much as he wanted to comfort Will, he somehow couldn’t do it. He was still too hurt. And he realized it had been less about Bianca’s name, and more a mix of hurt and shame about the fact that he had been Will’s “dirty little secret” and Nico had let it happen. And it was also a matter of self preservation, really. Perhaps it was petty of him, but he couldn’t just be there for Will as his “friend” right now. That would be too painful. Fuck, he was a bad person. But he just couldn’t. Not unless he knew they could work things out again, and Nico didn’t even know if he really wanted that. Even if his heart had skipped a beat when Bianca said Will was in love with him. This was about so much more than feelings. And Nico didn’t think he could take sneaking around any longer. 

In the end, he did call Lou Ellen. Or, rather, he answered when she called him from Will’s place and offered his help. As it turned out, Will was still unsure about coming out as his manager still wanted to find another solution. But when Nico learned that the supposed assault had occurred the night Nico was in Boston, he promised to be Will’s alibi if it would come to that. He told Lou that there were pictures of him getting out of Bianca’s car, and that together with Laura’s and Nico’s testimonies would probably be enough. Nico said he could also dig up the picture Bianca had taken on their crossdressing act that first night, should further evidence be necessary.

As he hung up the phone, reassured that at least they would be able to keep Will out of prison, something else popped up in his mind though. According to Lou, the girl whom Will was supposed to have slept with had disappeared after the concert. What if the hard core fans had seen something? They apparently watched Will’s every move like little hawks with I-phones and high heels. What if they kept track of his potential hook-ups too?

*

Nico was a bit nervous when he knocked on the door to Chloe’s dorm. He hadn’t discussed this with Will or Lou Ellen, and maybe he was overstepping. Perhaps Will wouldn’t want his fans involved… Nico actually thought they could be trusted, at least Chloe and Phoebe. But still. There was an impending risk that the truth would come out if they dug too deep. The thing was just; Nico had a hunch. Something wasn’t right. And he usually trusted his hunches. He would have talked to Will about it, but he was set on following Octavian’s orders. And something told Nico that man couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t know why, exactly. It was just a feeling… And it wasn’t only anger about the fact that he had been the one messing with Will’s love life. No. There was more. Nico had met him in San Francisco, and he instantly got a bad feeling. There was something... false about him. Like he’s the kind of guy that has his closets full of skeletons (and not just secretly gay popstars), and his backyard full of buried puppies even if everything looks perfect from far away. 

Well, be as it may. Nico couldn’t stop himself. He needed to help Will. Perhaps he was overcompensating a bit for the fact that he failed to be there for him personally? Or he was secretly hoping for things to work out between them in the end. He sighed and tried to snap out of his overthinking addiction as Chloe opened the door and let him in. 

“I don’t know what you think about all of this, but I can tell you that I know for a fact this whole story is bullshit. And Will needs our help to prove that…” Nico greeted her with a newspaper clip in his hand, going straight to the point.

“We know he didn’t do it… for starters, it was in Boston, right?” Chloe nodded in agreement as he let Nico inside. 

“Supposedly…”

“Well, that’s easy. It’s the night his mysterious date showed up. You know, the one in your sister’s car…” Phoebe gave him a wink.

“What I don’t understand though…” Chloes said thoughtfully, “If she was there… why can’t she just be his alibi? This stupid story should have been killed as soon as it saw the light of day…”

“I agree… It just can’t be that important for your sister to deny that she’s seeing Solace that she won’t testify?” Phoebe nodded.

Nico sighed. Yeah, he hadn’t really thought this through. 

“Like I told you, she isn’t actually seeing him, ok? It’s complicated, just humor me, ok…? I need to know if anything really happened to that girl. She doesn’t seem like the usual lying-to-get-attention type, but perhaps there’s some huge misunderstanding? Or she’s being blackmailed by some guy she actually slept with? I was thinking - perhaps she got stuck on some photos from that evening? We know that she did talk to Solace, so…”

“Yeah. In that case, it’s even possible that someone could have followed her to check it out…” Phoebe nodded.

“Shit, those people are really a bit creepy you know Phoebs?” Chloe said, shaking her head slightly.

“Fair, but in this case it may lead to some good, right? Let me go through some photos on the server and throw out a discrete question, ok?” Phoebe said. 

“Sure, just keep Bianca’s name out of it….” Nico insisted.

“I promise, but it isn’t like the speculations aren’t going wild already you know... “ she said, giving him a lopsided smile. 

Chloe and Nico made some coffee and talked a bit about their project, since Phoebe didn’t want them hanging over her shoulder. After an hour or so, she came in to the kitchenette with her laptop and a triumphant grin. 

“Yup, looks like mystery girl was quite busy…” she said showing them a long row of photos. 

Evidently, the girl had indeed been flirting with Will, just like Lou Ellen had already told Nico, but then she was approached by Octavian, which alerted all of Nico’s warning systems . Was it usual for him to talk to girls Will had flirted with? It even looked like if he was buying her a drink on one of the pictures. 

There were some other photos of Will talking to girls, where she was hovering in the background, like she was waiting for something, and then she seemed to have disappeared from the bar at the same time as he did, just as her friends had claimed. Someone had indeed followed her back to the hotel, where she had arrived shortly after Will. But the thing that made Nico’s heart jump was that she had taken the elevator to the twelfth floor, according to the fangirl who had followed her. When she got off the elevator on the wrong floor, she had abandoned the stalking project as she was evidently not going to Will’s hotel room.

“I don’t even know if I’m glad we found this information or just disturbed that someone actually followed a girl to the hotel just because she had been seen talking to Solace…”

“Ok, so some of the fans can be a bit much, I agree…” Phoebe shrugged. “They don’t mean any harm, though. It’s just curiosity…” 

“So, the trace ends here? We don’t know where she went or who she was meeting?” Chloe asked.

“Nope, not really…” Phoebe shrugged.

“But it does indeed seem like if she was hooking up with someone else, right?” Nico suggested. “I wonder why she would lie and tell her father she had slept with Solace? Was it someone even worse? Or is she being blackmailed…? We need to know who was on the twelfth floor that night.”

“Yeah, can’t help you with that. Unless someone has connections at the hotel…” Phoebe said.

“Or if someone could hack their computer?” Chloe suggested.

“YES! You’re a genius… I’m calling in reinforcements!” Nico exclaimed.

Luckily, Leo was free and didn’t mind helping out. Phoebe and Chloe insisted on tagging along, as Phoebe was just as invested in clearing Will’s name, and she was also working on a parallel angle - namely to check if anyone had seen mystery girl with any other men, or if someone had connections in the hotel. When they showed up, loaded with pizza and beer, which Leo thought was a reasonable payment, Jason was there too. Nico had managed to text them and reminded them not to mention exactly how well Nico really knew Will. 

“Welcome ladies, sit down and enjoy the view while the amazing Leo solves this mystery for you all…” he said as he showed them inside with a small bow.

Nico rolled his eyes. “Stop flirting Leo, we have actual work to do…”

“Does he always talk about himself in the third person?” Chloe wanted to know as she took off her jacket and gave Leo’s place a sceptic once over.

Yeah. Leo’s place. Nico should have warned them, really. It looked like a bomb had gone off in a hardware store, and then a tornado had swept through it and brought a bunch of random tools and instruments into a computer lab next door. 

Leo had to clear the coffee table of some old hard drives and random cables that were lying around from some half finished project in order to set down the pizza boxes. 

“I know, it’s a mess, but he’s actually a tech genius and a real computer wiz…” Nico stage whispered to the girls.

“Aw, flattery, mi amigo. You know how to make a man happy…” Leo cooed.

Jason choked on his beer at that and Leo started to chuckle when he realized what he had said. Nico, surprisingly, didn’t even use the obvious opening for a good punchline, it was just too easy. 

“Yeah… insert your own gay joke here…” he just said instead, rolling his eyes and digging into the pizza. 

Chloe snickered a bit, but her cousin didn’t seem to understand what was funny. She was too distracted by the project anyway and had already opened her own laptop to start working.

Leo and Phoebe were lost in cyberspace for a good hour, while the other three were mulling over different theories while sharing the rest of the food and the drinks.

Suddenly, Nico’s phone buzzed and Jason picked it up, amused. “I think it’s Pablo…” 

“Well, I’m not answering that. Shit, how did he even get my number? Jason? You promised to get rid of that guy...”

“Sorry Nico… I haven’t gotten to that part yet…”

“Fuck, I don’t have time for this shit right now. You talk to him and tell him I’m not interested, or you’re leaving…”

“Guy trouble?” Chloe smirked.

“If by guy trouble you mean my stupid best friend forced me to go on the blind date from hell with a guy who doesn’t seem to know what the word no means, then yeah…”

“You’re gay?” Phoebe exclaimed, staring wide eyed at Nico. 

“Eh… yes?” he answered defiantly. “Is that a problem?” His voice was dripping with ice, and he glared at Chloe like if this was all her fault. If there was something he  _ really _ didn’t have the energy for right now, it was arguing with some bigoted bitch who…

“No…” Phoebe almost shouted. “Of course not. I just didn’t realize… Oh, now I get the joke...” she said, half smiling, but she went awfully quiet and distant for a long while, like if she was thinking all their past interactions through in search for evidence or something. Nico was almost on the verge of saying something after several minutes of awkward silence, but before he could, it seemed some kind of realization dawned upon the girl. She gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth.

“Oh. My. God.” she exclaimed, bulging eyes staring at Nico like she was seeing him for the first time. 

“What?” Nico snapped, exasperated. What was wrong with this person? 

“It… it was you. Shit, how could I miss this. It’s so obvious. It was you all the time…” she started to babble, mostly to herself. “He wasn’t seeing you sister, he was seeing you… I’ve always suspected… but it could never be proved…”

Chloe gasped as the penny seemed to drop for her as well, and Nico groaned and shook his head. Oh yeah, he was so busted. There would be no denying it now.

“Eeehhh…” Nico said sheepishly, while he tried to think of a way out of this.

“You’re so busted amigo. Don’t insult the intelligence of these beautiful ladies…” Leo adviced from behind his screen and Nico sent him an evil glare. 

“Look… I’m sorry, ok?” Nico pleaded “Please don’t tell anyone… he will be in trouble if this comes out.”

“Sure… but why?” Chloe asked what everyone was probably wondering. “I mean, it’s the perfect alibi, really...”

“The studio won’t let him, and he will be in trouble if this comes out. At least this way...” 

“That’s just… fucked up…” she said incredulously.

“Yeah, it is.” Nico agreed. “They think his fans wouldn’t accept it,” he said with a pointed glare at Phoebe.

“Well, that’s just bullshit. Sure, some girls would probably be disappointed. But not his real fans, they like his music, really. And there have always been rumors anyway…” she shrugged.

“Really? What rumors?” 

“Well, that the reason he’s faking relationships is that he’s gay, obviously. And there have been guys claiming that Will was checking them out, or that they hooked up. Like way back when he started. But he evidently got better at hiding it, because those rumors were silenced rather quickly. Only the hard core fans haven’t really stopped speculating and it has been one of several theories about his mysterious love life…”

“Oh..” Nico said, surprised.

“So you are actually seeing him?” Chloe asked excitedly.

“I was, kind of… but we broke it off. I couldn’t take the hiding and lying anymore.” he confessed with a small pout. “But I still care about him, and I really want to help him out of this mess.”

“Guys… I think you’ll want to see this…?” Leo suddenly interrupted.

“What?” everyone asked at the exact same time.

“I got in. And look who was staying on the twelfth floor…”

“No…” Nico gasped. This was just too much of a coincidence.

“Octavian? That’s Will’s manager, right?” Chloe asked curiously.

“Yes it is. And the asshole who has forbidden Will to come out, really.” Nico nodded.

“So what the hell does that mean?” Jason asked.

“I’m not sure. But it’s too much of a coincidence that he would talk to the girl, buy her a drink and then she shows up at his hotel? And he didn’t want Will to use his sexuality as an alibi when this whole mess unwinded, might I add. There’s definitely something fishy going on here…”

“So, let’s assume she actually slept with the manager? Why would she do that? And why would she lie about it to her father?” Chloe asked the room in general.

“Ok, we’ll have to dig into this for sure…” Phoebe nodded “But I can tell you right now that there has always been rumors about his manager being a real creap. Like, girls claiming he has hinted that he could hook them up with Will, in exchange for sexual favors...”

“What? Oh hell, no… that fucking piece of shit.” Nico cried out. This was far worse than he had ever imagined… 

“I don’t know if anything ever happened; I mean, it’s obviously just the ones who told him to fuck off who wrote about it in the forum… I don’t think anyone would willingly have confessed to agreeing to anything like that.”

“Well, that would sure explain why he’s so dead set on keeping Solace in the closet if he thinks it can get him some...” Leo agreed. “But it doesn’t explain why this girl would lie about it and tell her dad she slept with your amore?”

“Unless…” Jason started, tentatively…

“What? Are you thinking what I’m thinking…” Nico said, his hands shaking with adrenaline.

“Yeah… I mean, they look really similar…”

“Octavian usually poses as Will from a distance or from behind if they need to convince the press he is somewhere else than he actually is.” Nico explained to the others. “But he wouldn’t… would he?” Nico asked, still in shock. 

“What? Am I the only one not following…” Chloe asked.

“Well… it’s a pretty serious accusation. But I think what they are implying is that Octavian could have tricked the girl into thinking she was  _ actually _ sleeping with Will. I mean, if she was drugged, or really drunk, and it was dark in the room…?” 

“Well, fuck.” Chloe said.

“Yeah… this is huge. I mean, even if he’s only lying about being able to hook people up with Will in exchange for blow jobs… that’s… wow. I didn’t actually believe those rumors. But this sure seems suspicious.” Phoebe sighed and sat back on the couch, rubbing her eyes.

“So what do we do?” Chloe asked.

“I mean, if it’s true, it’s rape, basically. Or at least sexual assault. We have to go to the police.” Phoebe decided.

“Yeah. But let’s contact Solace’s lawyer first, ok? This can’t leave this room, ok? If any of these theories are true, we don’t want to give Octavian the opportunity to get rid of any evidence…” Nico said.

“That fucking asshole… I can’t believe he would… Fuck…” Nico cursed again, and started pacing furiously. 

He had to call Lou Ellen. She’d know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the chapter that made me re-draft the story. From the start, I had some vague idea of a dramatic trial scene, but I realized I don't know enough about the American justice system to write that in any kind of believable way. I even tried Google, but it mostly took me to law firms who wanted to sell me legal advice via pop up windows, so I gave that up. Thus, I showed it from Nico's POV as he was helping Will figure out what had happened instead, and I'll just pretend that they managed to sort the whole mess out before it went to court, or that we just didn't get to see that scene :D


	8. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will breaks a tv-reporter by making an unexpected confession on live TV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter is written kind of as a script (in italics), to make it easier to follow; It's something I've never tried before so I hope it works...

“Are you sure about this Will?”

“No… Yes… I don’t know Lou. But I don’t see a better way…”

“You could always just issue a statement in a press release? Give an interview to a magazine? I just feel like this talk show idea could go anywhere…”

“Yeah, but since it’s live they can’t cut out parts and twist my words around somehow. You know what the journalists can be like, right? This way, I have control over what I say even if I don’t know what they will ask… And it will be more convincing than if I just write something on social media or something.”

“Ok, but you know these reporters are not known for playing nice, exactly… they are going to ask you the hard questions.”

“I know, but that’s what I want, right? I want it to be honest. And I think I will catch them off guard a bit too - they probably think the big revelation I’ve promised to give them is about some girl, and they’ve most likely prepared questions to pressure me about my “playboy-days...”

“Ok, I hope you’re right… And as Rodriguez is openly gay, it’s not like he’s going to shun you because of that. He could be harsh about the part where you have been hiding it, though.”

“Yes, but that’s ok. I’m prepared to humbly offer my apologies for that part…”

“Alright, if you think it’s for the best Will… let’s get you ready then, shall we?”

By the time Will stepped into the studio for his first ever live talk show appearance since he signed up for Apollo’s, he wasn’t even nervous anymore. He had been, for sure. There had been some sleepless nights where he almost regretted this decision. But no. There was no turning back now. All charges against him had may have been mysteriously dropped. But when his manager was suddenly arrested instead, the speculations went wild in the tabloids and all over the Internet. The worst wasn’t even those who thought he had bought his way out of the mess, no. It was the absurd rumors about them all being part of some horrid sex cult, complete with orgies, drugs and extortion. Something had to be done, and since Apollo’s had given him a free card to talk about more or less anything after the Octavian fiasco, he had made the decision, it was about time to come out. With a big bang. Like, live on national television, big bang. 

*

_ Tonight we are very excited to welcome a very special guest - former American Idol winner, award winning pop artist, teenage girl idol and all around heartthrob - William Solace! _

_ *applause* _

_ Welcome to the Midnight Zoo - can I call you Will? . It’s such a pleasure to meet you… _

Rodriguez shook his hand and after exchanging pleasantries, and smiling brightly to the camera, the hosts - Miguel Rodriguez and Charlotte Martin - eased him into comfort with friendly banter and some easy question about his tour and his latest album. It was nice, but he knew the tough questions were about to hit him any second.

_ C: So, Will… as much as we all love your music… (M: and your looks * _ laughter* _ ). I think there are some things our viewers would very much like to know the truth about. _

_ W: I know… it’s the new haircut, right? _*laughter*

_ M: Oh, we can talk about that later… who _ **is** _ your stylist… _

_ C: Well, although I adore a nice, curly, undercut as much as the next girl… The drama, Will. The drama. What happened, really? _

_ M: Yes, I have always loved a good old fashioned drama almost as much as a new hairstyle… But tell us Will. There were some nasty accusations about you circling around there for a while? _

Press clips started rolling on the screen above them, just as Will had expected. Pictures of him with different girls, headlines reading “Rape allegations”, “Sexual assault accusations” “Apollo manager arrested”. “Manager and pop star involved in sex orgies?”

_ W: Well, you did miss a few. Like where I was cleared of all charges… *wink* _

_ M: Yes, we are of course very happy for you Will. _

_ C: Very happy indeed… But there are some other people out there who aren’t that nice to you right now, am I right? _

_ M: Yes, some people do seem to think you’ve gotten off quite easily? _

_ W: So they do, apparently... _

_ C: What do you think yourself? Like this editorial that claims you could probably not even remember all the girls you have slept with, and that it would be a miracle if none of them turned out to be underage? _

_ M: Exactly… and the ones that think you are part responsible for the way you manager could use girls like that. Some even say it wouldn’t have been possible if you hadn’t been - and I quote now - such a slut? _

_ W: Auch… _

_ M: Indeed… but what do you say? Are you a slut? _

At this point, Will snorted out a little laugh, but composed his features quickly. This was it, right? His big confession. No point in delaying the inevitable…

_ W: Well, I am not a slut…. But… I have done some things I’m not exactly proud of and I am partly responsible for this mess. That’s true. _

_ C: How are you responsible? You told us before you had a confession to make? Is this it? _

_ W: Sort of… Let me get to that part. But first, I would like to say that I’m truly, genuinely sorry for this mess and any part I’ve played in it. I may not be a slut, but I have given that impression for reasons I’ll come back to later. And that kind of makes me a liar, which is probably worse I would say. _

_ C: Wow… _

_ M: Yeah, wow… now we are really curious. _

_ C: So, you’re telling us you have been pretending to sleep around? _

_ W: Basically… yeah. _

_ M: If you’re telling me the secret is that you’re really a virgin, I think I’m going to change professions right here and now for being completely blindsided… _

_ W: Ha ha, no. That’s not it, I’m sorry to disappoint. Not a virgin. _

_ C: I’m so disillusioned… * _laughter*

_ W: but I will tell you there’s a reason I know for absolute sure I have never slept with an underage girl… _

_ C: Do tell us… _

_ M: No way… _*claps hands over mouth*

_ W: Yes Miguel… the reason that I know that is… pay attention now, people. This is it…. I can count the people I’ve slept with on the fingers of my right hand. I’m absolutely sure all of them were of age. And also. None of them were girls... _

_ *collective gasp* _

_ C: No… _

_ M: Oh my god… _

_ C: I didn’t see this one coming, I have to give you that… _

_ M: Dios Mío... _

_ M: Holy fu….rnace.... _

_ C: I think you broke Miguel… I’ve never seen him speechless before. _

_ W: I’ll put that on my resumé… _

_ C: Seriously though? William Solace gay? _

_ W: Yes… that would be correct. _

_ C: But… why? I mean, all the girls, William? I bet when my dear co-host finds his ability to speak again, he’ll want to know why you haven’t come out of the closet until now? _

_ W: A very valid question indeed. And I do want to apologize to everyone out there. My fans, girls I may have led on by flirting around… the general LGBTQ+ community… I am not ashamed of my sexuality, but I am ashamed of the fact that I lied about it for so long. _

_ C: So, why the charade? _

_ W: Well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly my idea… and I know it’s a lame excuse, but once I was young and stupid and a bit desperate to get a record deal… and a certain manager made me sign a contract that stated I had to pose as heterosexual since he claimed it would be better for my carreer… _

_ M: That is a bit offensive, wouldn’t you say? _

_ C: He can speak again, ladies and gentlemen… *applause* _

_ W: I do know that Miguel, and I’m truly sorry for being such an idiot. At the time, I didn’t really read the fine print… and I obviously didn’t think further than my first single. And then I thought I couldn't get out of it for a long while. _

_ C: So, what made you decide to come out now? Is it because of the accusations? _

_ W: Partly. This whole mess made me realize that this is bigger than me. That other people could get hurt. When it became clear what my manager had done… Well, let’s just say it was obvious that he had selfish reasons for keeping me in the closet. And I was really sick of it to begin with, truth be told. But that was the last straw. I decided that I would break the contract, even if it would cost me my record deal and a small fortune as well. But when I went to the management of the studio, it turned out they didn’t even know about that particular clause… It had all been him. And I was evidently an idiot to fall for it… _

_ C: Not your brightest moment? _

_ W: Not even remotely… _

_ M: It pains me to say bad things about a fellow queer person, but heck, that was stupid… _

_ W: Yes… _

_ M: Shame on you, really. _

_ W: Definitely… _

_ M: So, Will. Back to the more important things… Are you single? _

_ *laughter* _

_ C: You do remember you’re married, right Miguel? _

_ M: Of course, but it’s ok. Will just made one of my three now… _

_ W: Your three? _

_ M: Yes. Three persons you can sleep with and it doesn’t count? You know what I mean, right Charlotte? _

_ C: Absolutely. You were on the top of my list too. But I guess that’s not going to happen now, so it just made space for a new addition... hmmm… I’ll have to think about that? _

_ M: But seriously, is there someone special in your life Will? _

_ W: Well… I’m not actually seeing anyone right now, if that’s the question. But before you make any grand plans, I have to confess that there is someone I’m kind of hoping will find it in his heart to forgive me for the mess I’ve managed to make of things… _

_ C: Oh? _

_ M: A bit disappointing. But I may forgive your if you give us some more juice on that story Will? _

_ W: I don’t know what to say, really. I won’t give you a name, sorry about that. But I did meet someone a while back who means a lot to me. But I screwed it up and he got caught in the middle of this whole mess, along with some other people close to him. And I do wish I could think of a way to make him forgive me… _

_ M: Like a grand gesture? _

_ W: Something like that... _

_ C: Sort of like apologizing live on national TV? _

_ W: I’m not even sure he will put that in the plus-column… He’s not exactly a fan of publicity. _

_ C: Auch. That’s sort of a deal breaker if you’re going out with a celebrity… _

_ W: Yeah… rub it in… _

_ M: Fame and fortune can be a bitch… don’t I know it *wink* _

_ W: Sorry, I wasn’t fishing for sympathy, I promise… _

_ C: Ok. So back to your shady past. To make people forget the sympathy, I mean… *laughter* _

_ W: Do your worst… _

_ C: The girls, Will… what’s the deal with this? Nobody noticed that you wasn’t a hundred percent… dedicated? _

_ W: Well. Honestly, I don’t think so. Truth is, it never went beyond kissing in public. As much as I’m ashamed to say it, it was all a show for the cameras, really. And I’ve had a good team who has helped make the most of every rumor… _

_ M: Which is a bad thing… _

_ C: Bad indeed… we do not sympathize with that _

_ M: Don’t try it at home, folks… _

_ W: Indeed… though, again. My sincerest apologies to anyone who might feel I’ve led them on… Although I’ll let you in on a little secret… _

_ C: More secrets? I don’t know if we can handle it… _

_ W: There weren’t as many girls as you might think. Most of them were actually one of my good friends dressed up as different people. _

_ M: Wow. I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be impressed or disturbed by that… _

_ C: I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this in the future… now we have to give Will some time to prepare for his performance tonight… Will, you’re going to sing us a brand new song… Tell us about it… _

  


_ * _

Once the cameras were turned off, both Miguel and Charlotte attacked him.

“I don’t know if I hate you for dropping that bomb on us with no notice live or if I love you for what this is going to do to our ratings…” Charlotte sighed, but gave him a big hug nonetheless.

“Oh, darling, I definitely love you… But I can’t believe you had me completely dumbfounded! It’s never happened before, I assure you. Ask my husband…” Miguel said, after kissing both of his cheeks.

“You’re absolutely right about that love… your should have a medal for getting him to shut up...” a tall, handsome man Will could only assume was indeed said husband pitched in.

“Alex, darling. Meet Will Solace. Will, my husband, Alex.”

Will was still too high on adrenaline to really know what was happening around him, but Kayla, who had taken over the main responsibility as his manager temporarily, broke up their party when the tv-crew wanted to get him to come out with them for drinks.

“I think you’ve had enough of the spotlight for today Will. Let’s get you back to the hotel and you can get some sleep while I manage the press for now…”

When they got out, Kayla and Lou basically had to fight off journalists and paparazzi with sticks to get Will into the car. So far, the news of him being gay seemed to have landed better than expected. In the studio nobody objected, naturally. The audience applauded wildly after his performance and all the people backstage were really supportive. This was just a small bubble of the universe, Will knew that. But it was still nice.

Kayla spent the car ride back to the hotel going through his social media accounts and the usual fan sites and tabloids. He had prepared statements for all his media channels that were published as soon as he was off the air, and Kayla and her new assistant took care of any follow up questions for now, according to a plan they had made before. Will wanted to wait a few days before he checked any comments himself, but Kayla reported it didn’t look bad. His phone was full of messages from friends and family, and they were mostly supportive. 

All in all, things were looking rather good so far. And Will felt it was a huge relief to be out. Like a big mountain was lifted off his chest. Or a small planet. Sure, he knew there would be haters, and some people would most certainly be upset with him for lying for so long. What it would do to his record sales, it would take a long time to evaluate. But right now, he didn’t care about that. He was just so happy the lying and hiding was over he could have cried. He probably did, actually... There was only one thing dampening the joy of being free at last. He still hadn’t heard from Nico.

It wasn’t that he had expected Nico to wait for him outside the studio with flowers and chocolate. As a matter of fact, that image was kind of hilarious and had Will snickering to himself for a bit. It wasn’t exactly a Nico thing to do… But when Will found out that Nico had been the one to dig up the whole story about Octavian, with help from some enthusiastic Solace-fans, he had kind of hoped it meant something. At least that Nico still cared about him. But he still didn’t answer any of Will’s messages and he hadn’t reacted at all when Will wrote to him that he was planning to come out tonight on the show. He had to admit, he was a bit disappointed. He had hoped for at least something…

“Stop obsessing…” Lou commented, from where she was sitting next to him, head resting on his shoulder. Will had convinced her to stay over at his hotel, and they had been watching a movie to try to focus on something else and get some distance to the whole debacle. But Will couldn’t help that he kept glancing at his phone, hoping for a reaction from the only person who hadn’t yet provided one.

“What?” he said innocently. Damn, how was it that she knew what he was thinking even when she was half asleep?

“I know what you are waiting for Will… and I understand. But you have to give him some space, ok?” she advised reassuringly.

“But…”

“No, Will. Trust me. Coming out on National TV, singing him a love song and practically confessing to the whole nation that you want him back is huge. Bigger than you think. Even if he has forgiven you for outing Bianca, the breakup was never just about that. You know that. And this will have reminded him about what an official relationship with you would mean. And it’s a big decision to make for someone who doesn’t particularly like the spotlight…” 

“But if he cared about me at all…”

“If he cared about you less” Lou interrupted “he could easily just text you something meaningless and get on with his life…”

“So… do you think..?”

“I don’t know what will happen, but I know that putting pressure on him will not help right now. He has all the facts on the table, it’s his decision to make. You’ll just have to have patience.”

“I hate that… seriously. Patience? Who invented that? Complete and utter bullshit.” Will groaned and threw himself dramatically on the couch, yet again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I totally made up a TV-show here (although it's kind of based on a mixed between two different shows we have where I live), and since I normally don't watch any American talk shows I have to tell you that I don't know if this is even remotely realistic scenario. Like, do they even send live? But well, I had sort of written myself into a corner and I needed Will to come out bit and for the whole sexual assault story to be wrapped up without having to go through the procedures in too much detail. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed that there's no big Octavian-bashing scene here or a full explanation of what went down exactly. 
> 
> I've been at a conference all week and my brain turned to mush from information overload, basically, so that's partly why this isn't my longest or best written chapter ever. But I didn't want to put it off for much longer either. Most of next chapter is written too though, as I tend to go a bit back and forth between parts, so hopefully I'll have that up during the weekend.


	9. Nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico is pining. And drinking. Oh, my. That never leads to anything good, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've followed this you probably noted that I just added a chapter again. Sorry. But this is the last time, I swear... explanation in the end notes!

“I can’t believe he’s coming here…”

“I can’t believe we’re going to meet him…” 

“Nico, this is all thanks to you really. We’ll owe you like forever…”

“I don’t know about that, I think  _ he’s _ the one who owes  _ you _ actually. Wasn’t that the whole idea?” 

Nico tried to give Chloe and Phoebe a relaxed smile, but it probably came out rather tense. 

It wasn’t that he had anything in particular against Will coming to New York personally to thank his most dedicated fans, who helped clearing his name. And, naturally, the fact that he was giving a charity concert to support LGBTQ+ rights when he was here was obviously amazing. If Nico would have resented these facts just because it forced him to confront his ex-lover, it would have been rather petty of him. And thus, he didn’t. Not at all. Nope. Never. Not in a million years.

He had even promised to be there. And he had no plans whatsoever of faking a terminal, and very contagious, disease. Spattergroit? Is that a thing or is that from Harry Potter? Measles? That’s real, right?

Nico was kind of ashamed that it had taken him a week to even react to Will’s big coming out. He was just so torn between what his heart wanted and what his brain wanted. And this time, he had absolutely decided not to take any opinions from his “Gibson” into account. It obviously didn’t make the best decisions, long term. 

Will had made it perfectly clear that he wanted another chance. On national TV even. Fuck… That had definitely been enough to make Nico run screaming… But Will had apologized for it afterwards, via text message, claiming to understand that it had been a bit much. And that had made Nico finally get his shit together and answer the man. It was probably the most re-written text message in the history of text messages. He had actually been quite happy with the way he had managed to express that he a) was happy for Will b) had forgiven him for everything c) thought it was best they remained friends for the time being in less than four sentences.

That was, until Lou Ellen called and yelled at him for sending Will mixed signals. A bit of mild emotional extortion was all it took for Nico to actually call his ex-lover for a long overdue talk. Shit, he had become a softie...

But Nico was actually proud of how honest he had been with Will. Mostly honest anyway. After talking about everything that had happened, for a good two hours, they had gotten to the pressing point. What now? Will had been just as forward as in the talk show. He was hoping for a second chance with Nico. Nico had indeed (although grudgingly) confessed that he, too, did have feelings for Will, and that part of him really wanted that too. Only, it wasn’t just about forgiving Will, and himself, for the mess they made of things. It was about whether Nico could live with being the official partner of a superstar or not. Because he couldn’t live with sneaking around anymore. That, he was sure of. If they were doing this, they were going to go all in. Nico didn’t understand how that would even work with Will touring half of the year, and living on the other side of the country for the rest of it, but Will had insisted they could make it work, somehow. Now that he was out, Nico could visit, they could talk all the time, and Will would spend as much time as possible in New York. He had it all figured out… Still, Nico was hesitating. He had never been much for fame and glory, and if he was ever to achieve it, he didn’t want it to be as somebody’s significant other. He didn’t want reporters to dig into his life and harass his friends or paparazzi taking embarrassing photos of him being drunk, or naked, or both. And that was only half of the problem...

In the end, Will had said it was his decision and that he could take his time. He didn’t want to pressure Nico. But Nico didn’t want time. And he didn’t want Will to wait for him while he was being a coward. Will deserved better. He deserved to be the heart breaker the media had always described him as, but breaking the hearts of cute guys instead. He deserved to flirt around and to have some fun after all these years in the closet. He was often away on tour, surrounded by fans and gorgeous dancers and other random famous, beautiful people. Nico didn’t think he could live with holding Will back, and constantly wondering what guy was trying to seduce his boyfriend today. Not that he was the jealous type normally, but… Well. Will was something else. And if Nico allowed himself to really get invested, it would crush him when it ended (which it was going to do, sooner rather than later, probably). 

Nico didn’t really confess all of these doubts to Will, obviously. He just stated that he was sorry, but he didn’t think he could do the famous boyfriend thing. They were better off as friends…

He had felt like shit afterwards, seeing how heartbroken Will had been. But it was better this way. Really. Will would get over it - he probably had dozens of gorgeous men lining up to meet him now that he was out. 

And Nico, he tried his best to forget all about Will Solace. Which was a challenge for several reasons. First of all, he wasn’t a guy you easily forgot… And even if he had been; media, tabloids and the Internet in general constantly kept reminding Nico about him. He was everywhere, that hadn’t changed much because of his coming out. On the contrary, actually. But the worst thing was perhaps that Will insisted on taking Nico’s suggestion of remaining friends literally. Didn’t he know that it was something that you said when you broke up, because “I never want to hear from you again” seemed kind of rude, unless your ex had cheated or fucked up in some other major way? 

But no, Will kept texting him, liking stuff on his Instagram, suggesting they should get together and “catch up” when he planned to go to New York, inviting Nico to the concert and other evil things. If Nico hadn’t known Will was such a nice person, he would have been sure it was all part of some devious master plan to drive him insane. And now, Will was coming here… It was all a nightmare, really. He tried to talk to his sister about his problem later that day, but, naturally, Bianca didn’t quite see his point. The conversation went something like this: 

“So, what’s the problem here really Nico?” 

“I don’t know… it’s just. Everyone is making such a fuss about this whole charity concert thing… And they all expect me to be there.”

“That’s awful. Supporting gay rights and all that. The nerve of them…” 

“I’m sorry. It’s not that it isn’t great and all. But I don’t know why he has to drag  _ me _ into this, really?”

“I know… it’s really terrible of him, wanting to thank you for what you did for him, offering you free tickets and everything.”

“Har har, but seriously. I mean, isn’t it a bit odd that he keeps contacting me and following me on Instagram and everything? Wanting to meet up in New York..? We did break up…”

“So, he wants to stay friends? Wasn’t that what you agreed upon?”

“Yeah… but. That’s just something you say, right? I mean. Nobody actually does that? Unless they want something else from you… Why is he so nice to me!?”

“Wow. He’s being nice to you!? He’s the worst… really.” 

“Can you drop the sarcasm for like, two seconds Bianca?”

“I don’t know, can you stop being an idiot, and I just might...” 

At this point, Nico mainly sighed in frustration and banged his head against the table. They were sitting in the bar at campus waiting for Hazel, having made plans to meet up and have a casual brother-and-sisters-bonding-night. Nico was starting to regret this. Especially when Hazel suddenly showed up, and the two teamed up against him. Naturally.

“Why is our brother broken?” she asked curiously, sliding in to a seat next to Bianca, giving her a brief hug.

“He has some major beef with the fact that Will wants to stay friends, and Nico pretends he doesn’t because he’s still in love with the man and doesn’t know what to do with himself now that he’s coming to New York…” Bianca summed up the situation, sipping casually on her wine.

“Oh. That. What else is new?” Hazel shrugged.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything about being in love with him…” Nico complained from somewhere under his folded arms and messy hair, but he still didn’t bother to look up. 

“Puhleeease... “ Bianca sighed and Hazel snorted with laughter. “It couldn’t be more obvious what your real problem is.”

“Nope. You at like, peak obvious with your pathetic pining.” Hazel agreed.

“I’m not pining…”

“You are so pining, I’m sorry brother dear. Everyone knows it.” Bianca agreed, patting him on the arm in what was probably supposed to be a comforting way, but felt more patronizing. Wait, who was he kidding, of course it was meant to be patronizing…

“Yeah, if I were to look on your Spotify list now…. how many times would I find you have played that new song that’s so obviously about your “stormy romance” or what the tabloids call it, just this last week?”

“Fuck off…” Nico answered. Because that was Nico for “probably at least a hundred”.

“Now, what you need to ask yourself is this: which is worse? People knowing that you are dating a pop star; or people knowing that you are hopelessly pining over a pop star while he gets on with his life. Because he will, sooner or later, you know…” Hazel informed him.

“I hate you both. I really, really do…” Nico pouted, which, of course, was Nico for “I hate that you are right”. 

“Speaking of beef… I’m hungry. We can’t sustain ourselves solely on stories about our brother’s pathetic love life all night… Where did the waiter go?” Bianca asked, effectively killing the subject. Because she did, in fact, speak  _ Nico _ and she knew they had made their point. Further pressing it would only piss him off. 

  


In hindsight, Nico didn’t know what he had been thinking. Sure, facing Will Solace slightly drunk might have made him less nervous than facing him completely sober. It was reasonable. But still. It really didn’t take a genius to figure out all the ways in which that plan might backfire on him… 

Part of him hadn’t even wanted to come to Lou Ellen’s small party at all, thinking that it was better he minimize the time he had to spend in the actual company of his ex lover aka “friend”. But then again, it had felt better to face him in a less formal setting first. Also, Lou would have given him hell if he hadn’t turned up, as would his sisters. Bianca was actually looking forward to meeting Will again, and Hazel was excited to finally get to meet the man who had turned their lives pretty much upside down lately. 

All things considered, his decision making hadn’t been all that bad to begin with. But then the Stoll brothers happened.

Apparently, the Stoll brothers were old friends of Lou’s and Will’s and somehow related to their good friend Cecil, whom Nico was introduced to for the first time as well. In Nico’s opinion, meeting Will’s old schoolmates was bad enough. It didn’t particularly help that they were rude, obnoxious pranksters with very little respect for other people’s integrity. Including that of international celebrities and their friends (aka ex lovers)… 

Now, they seemed to have made it their life’s mission to get Nico drunk, and try to pry a confession out of him regarding what had really happened between him and their old school mate. Because it seemed like the worst kept secret in the world, at least within their little friend group, that  _ something _ had. 

Nico strongly suspected the Stolls had spiked his drinks with something really nasty, because he felt much, much drunker than he should have, considering the amount of alcohol he had actually consumed. And he realized it was getting dangerous. He had managed to avoid talking to Will alone almost completely so far - luckily, everybody else wanted the man’s attention. However, the more intoxicated he got, the less control he seemed to have over his actions, which, to be fair, is kind of how alcohol works, so no surprises there. The problem was that his subconscious evidently considered talking to Will, preferably alone, was a smashing idea. And the small voice in his head that screamed that this wasn’t the plan was growing more and more silent as the evening went. 

Afterwards, he realized his subconscious had probably had some help too. The Stolls evidently wanted something to happen, because Nico suspected they were at least partly responsible for making sure Will and Nico ended up next to each other at dinner, on the same team when they were playing some lame game that Nico didn’t even remember afterwards, and they were definitely behind the two of them somehow ending up locked out on the balcony together. 

“So, it’s nice to finally get a chance to talk…” Will stated, leaning casually against the railing of the balcony, looking out over Campus. 

“Mhm…” Nico said, because he didn’t exactly know how to answer that. He also had a bit of a hard time focusing on what Will said. Partly because he had a bit of a problem focusing in general, but also because he was too busy drinking in the sight of him standing there in his faded blue jeans and his rolled up shirtsleeves, showing his strong arms with the tan and all the freckles. Oh, God… the freckles. Like tiny little stars in a gorgeous Will-shaped universe. Nico could write a song about that, probably. And the hair. Fuck. He was so hot in his new undercut. Not that the long culs hadn’t been cute, but he looked cool now. Oh, he was hot. Like sexyness personified. And he showed more of his beautiful face. Shit... So beautiful…

“You think so?” Will said, his whole body radiating warmth and happiness.

“What?” Nico was ripped from his little indulgent daydream.

“You like the new haircut?” Will flashed him a cocky smile and flipped his bangs back from his forehead. 

“Ehhh…”  _ Fuck, fuck, fuck… _ “Did I say that out loud?” Nico asked, dumbly.

“You said my undercut is hot…?” 

“I did..?” Nico said, blushing furiously. Somehow he got the impression that wasn’t the only thing Will had heard. “I must be drunk…”

“Well, you  _ are _ tilting slightly…” Will agree, lips twitching into a mischievous smirk. 

“S’ just because the balcony is spinning… not my fault, really.” Nico explained.

“You can always hold onto me, you know?” Will offered with a wink. 

Damn, why did he have to be flirty? Nico couldn’t do flirty Will right now. 

“Stop that!” Nico ordered.

“Stop what?” Will wanted to know. 

“You know…” Nico pointed vaguely at the entirety of Will as if that explained everything. Which, it apparently didn’t because Will just flashed him an amused grin and raised his eyebrows.

“Being adorable… I mean, being you… you know?” Nico clarified.

“So you think I’m adorable?” 

“Shut up Solace… I’m drunk. I told you so. You can’t trust anything I say…”

“Because you only think so because you’re drunk, or because you’re only telling me because you’re drunk?”

Nico thought about this for a long while, losing himself in Will’s much too blue gaze while he did it. “That…” he said, finally, pointing an accusing finger at the blond “...is a trick question. I know it.” 

Fuck, Nico needed to get off this stupid balcony and away from this stupid gorgeous man before he did something stupid, like kissing him. Shit. Stupid. That was a stupid word, right? It sounded really odd if you said it too many times in a row… Stupid, stupid, stupid. Nico let slip a small giggle at this epiphany.

“What’s funny?” Will asked. 

“I’m stupid…” Nico enlightened him…

“Okay… so, why is that funny? 

“I don’t know. Just is. I was thinking about kissing you…”

“Oh…”

“But I’m not gonna…”

“No? Why not?”

“‘Cause we’re friends. You don’t kiss your friends, that’s stupid.”

“But you just said you  _ were _ stupid anyway, so maybe you should just do it?”

Hm… Nico nodded thoughtfully. He knew that wasn’t what he was planning to do, but when Will put it like that, it did sound kind of logical, right? And it didn’t help that Will was kind of like a magnet that, sucking Nico into his personal space. Or perhaps a black hole was a better analogy, because Nico was really sure he was about to implode when Will’s soft lips brushed against his and he felt the faint swipe of a warm tongue seconds later. 

“Wow… you tricked me again, didn’t you?” Nico panted when they broke apart after heaven knows how long.

“Might have a bit, yeah…” Will shrugged as he licked his lips and gave Nico a small wink.

“You’re a bad friend…” Nico said accusingly.

“Ok, fair point...” Will confessed. “But it’s hard being friends with someone you’re in love with…” he shrugged sheepishly.

“I know, right!?” Nico agreed, nodding frantically. Will really  _ got _ him. “Man, it’s the worst...”

“So…? You still won’t consider giving us another shot?” Will tilted his head slightly and looked down at Nico with his big blue puppy eyes. Nico felt his resolve melting away in those deep pools of cerulean (fuck, he was poetic when he was drunk). But wait. He had some kind of reason for not doing this, right?

“I dunno… I’m not sure I’m making the best decisions right now…” he argued, which, to be fair, he should have some credit for even realizing.

“I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bugging you about this right now… But in my defence, you have been avoiding me since I got here…” Will said.

“Yeah… It’s because I just want to kiss you and lock you up in my bedroom when I see you.” Nico explained solemnly. “You’re too irresistible…” he added, unless Will hadn’t gotten the point.

Will just chuckled a little and looked like he was about to argue with him again, when Lou Ellen opened the door and let them in again.

“There you are… Shit, I lost two bucks, I was betting on finding the two of you at least partly naked somewhere...” she muttered.

“You shouldn’t be naked on balconies… someone could see...“ Nico informed her helpfully.

“Right… yeah…” She said, shooting Will a questioning glance.

“And if he was naked, I would have to… Shit, think I need more alcohol…” Nico concluded and strolled off in the direction of the kitchen before he could open his mouth again and explain to Lou Ellen exactly what he would do to Will if he was naked. She probably didn’t want to know that anyway...

An hour - and several shots - later, Nico had a brilliant idea. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about it before. Fuck, he had been an idiot. 

He needed to find Will. Like, right now. Shit, what if he had gone home already? With someone else? As much as the Stolls were trying to get the two of them together, he could have sworn one of the brothers was definitely checking Will’s ass out earlier. Fuck. 

Luckily, he found the man sitting cross legged on Lou Ellen’s bed, talking to his sisters. Damn. That wasn’t good either, right? What if they would object?

“I need to talk to Will for a sec…” he said, pointedly looking between them and the door.

“Really?” Bianca raised her eyebrows and sent Hazel an amused look. But Nico didn’t care. He crossed his arms and pouted, and both of them shook their heads, but got up from the bed anyway.

“Go for it brother dear…” Bianca whispered in his ear on her way out, just as if she knew what he was thinking. 

“I was thinking…” he said, closing the door behind him and crawling onto the bed beside Will.

“Yeah?” Will said, half amused, half hopeful, half worried. Wait, that didn’t add up… a third amused… eh, whatever. Nico was too drunk for math anyway. 

“So. We shouldn’t make any big decisions when I’m drunk, right?” 

“Sounds fair…”

“But we can always just have sex, right?” Nico suggested bluntly, starting to crawl on top of the gorgeous man in front of him.

“Wait… what?” Will said, giving himself a small shake.

“I mean. Even if we’re just going to be friends. People do that. Friends with benefits or whatever, right?” he said, triumphantly.

“Yeah… but… how is that different from what we were doing before? And if you don’t want people to know but you don’t want to hide either?”

“Now, you’re asking difficult questions again…” Nico pouted. “But…” he held up his hand to stop Will from interrupting again. “I’m going to have an answer tomorrow. I’m almost certain I have thought about this part… Come on, I want you so badly…” he groaned, pressing his body against Will’s, watching the man’s pupils dilate and his breath hitch. Nico was certain he had him right where he wanted him. When Will answered, his voice was husky and a bit insecure, all playfulness gone.

“Nico, I don’t know if this is such a good idea…” he said quietly, making a half hearted attempt to hold the smaller man back with his hands.

“But I thought you wanted me…?” Nico pouted, trying to make Will melt with his own attempt at puppy eyes.

“I do…. Gods, I do…” Will groaned and rolled his eyes. “But you’re drunk and you’ll probably regret this in the morning… And we should talk first, right?”

They locked eyes for a long while, but nobody moved. Nico could feel Will’s intoxicating scent of sunshine and coconut contributing to his general state of dizziness and he was sure he was literally going to die if Will didn’t kiss him soon. 

“Please…” he whispered, all filters dropping. “I missed you… We’ll talk tomorrow, ok? If you come home with me, we’ll talk it all through.” he promised and leaned in.

Will was a bit hesitant at first, but slowly melted into the kiss. It was even more amazing than it had been on the balcony, like Nico could finally breathe again after being trapped too long in some small space that was slowly running out of air (he used to have a dream like that, and it was horrible). Suddenly, it seemed like going home wasn’t even necessary. He just wanted to rip Will’s clothes off right here and now…

“Come on, if you don’t want one of the Stolls to use this as black mail material later, we’d better sneak out…” Will argued, holding his hands back as they were fumbling with the buttons on the other man’s shirt. 

*

Nico woke up to the smell of coffee and a soft sound of someone playing the guitar in his living room. A glass of water and two advil were sitting on his nightstand. He groaned loudly and buried his head under the pillow.

_ What the hell happened last night? _

Memories were slowly starting to drift into his consciousness. He had been at a party… Lou Ellen. Those fucking Stoll brothers and their horrid drinking games… Will had been there. Will…

_ Fuck. What had he done? _ This was bad. Beyond bad, actually. He was pretty sure the person trying out new chords to some song in the living room was Will Solace, which meant Nico had somehow managed to do the one thing he was supposed to avoid last night, namely let Will Solace back into his well guarded personal space. 

_ Now what?  _

The room was still spinning slightly, and his head was throbbing like mad, which both made it hard to sort out his thoughts. He decided to take the pills first, and panic later. At least that was a plan he could handle. He finished the water and plopped back down on the bed, listening to Will’s soft singing from the other room. Nico wondered briefly if he would just leave if he slept for long enough? He really didn’t feel like confronting him about what they had done in this state… What was even the protocol for this situation? It wasn’t a normal one night stand, obviously. Was Will expecting them to get back together now? Did he even want to? Or was it just a lapse of judgement on his part as well?

Fuck…

The party was slowly coming back to him. They had kissed, right? But Nico had turned Will down… then what? Shit. Now he remembered. He had made the spectacularly bad desicion to offer Will sex without any strings attatched, right? Oh, this was a disaster… You don’t sleep with your ex, whom you are still in love with, and walk away like nothing happened. But Will had agreed. Which meant he didn’t really care about Nico, right? If he had, he wouldn’t have slept with him when he was drunk as fuck… 

Now that he thought about it, how had they even done it? Nico couldn’t remember, which was a new low, even for him. He wasn’t dragging home people to drunkenly fuck all that often, but on the rare occations that he did, he was at least sober enough to remember it. How had he even been able to perform last night? He wasn’t sore at all, which meant he had probably been the one doing the actual fucking. Or maybe they didn’t get that far? 

Perhaps it was about time he got his head out of his ass and confronted Will, before he had to report to Overthinkers Anonymous? Not that he particularly wanted to, but he had the feeling his problem wouldn't just magically go away no matter how long he spent trying to bury himself deep down under his duvet. Also, he really needed to use the bathroom… In his next apartment, he would make sure to have an en-suite, in case he needed to spend hours locked up in his bedroom hiding from any potential ex-lovers or random one night stand outside. Or from his sisters. They also needed occasional hiding from. 

Nico groaned into the mattress. If there was only some kind of procrastination award, he could give Will a run for his money as far as award winning was concerned. But no. He  _ would _ get out there and face his problems like a man. A very hungover, red eyed, pale, weak and pathetic sort of man for sure, but still. Any second now…

*

“Hi…” he said weakly, voice raspy and tired, and gave Will a half smile, as he finally stepped into the living room.

“Oh, good morning Sleeping Beauty…” Will greeted him happily, looking up from the guitar and flashing him a smile so bright it hurt his still light sensitive eyes a bit to look at.

Nico just glared at him in response. That man was gods damn lucky he was so cute… Nobody had the right to look so good this early in the morning. Or to call Nico insulting names and get away with it.

“I made coffee…” Will informed him with a small nod in the direction of the kitchen. “Perhaps you should get some before you try to communicate?”

Nico just grunted in response, but he made his way into the kitchen nonetheless. Coffee was always a good idea, right? Perhaps it wouldn’t be able to magically solve all his problems, but it couldn’t hurt to try. 

“Just kill me now…” he complained as he sunk down on the couch, putting the large mug of life saving blackness down on the table in front of him. 

“Jesus, you are almost as dramatic when you’re hungover as you are cute when you are drunk…” Will said, shaking his head slightly.

“I am not cute, thank you very much…” Nico insisted, trying to prove his point by sending Will a particularly nasty version of his patented death glare. 

Will just smiled at him in that slightly patronizing but still loving way that one smiles at a four year old who claims it was definitely not him at all, but his secret ghost friend who drew the dragon on the bedroom wall. Nico would know…

They sat in silence for a while, Nico drinking his coffee and Will absentmindedly plucking on the strings of the guitar. 

“Look…” Nico finally said, when he realized that Will, much to his surprise, wasn’t going to speak first. “I’m sorry about last night. We shouldn’t have… I mean, I shouldn’t have… This was a bad idea…” 

Will gave him a disbelieving glare that was very unlike him, and it made Nico feel a bit insecure. This conversation wasn’t going at all the way he had anticipated.

“What exactly do you think happened last night?” Will asked, eyebrows still hidden high up under his messy curls in astonishment. 

“Ehhh… I assumed we slept together?” Nico shrugged, but it was more of a question than a statement.

Will rolled his eyes and sighed. He let Nico hang for a bit while he played a couple of chords of his song, like he was thinking hard about what to say next.

“We didn’t?” Nico asked cautiously after a bit.

“Nico, you were barely conscious by the time we got back here…” Will informed him simply.

“Oh…” Nico said, because he had apparently lost the ability to form coherent sentences. “So… why?” He started, but he didn’t know how to finish the sentence.  _ Why are you here? _ seemed a bit rude. It was obvious that Will had taken care of him last night, stayed over, and made him coffee this morning, without even getting laid. Talk about the veritable Prince Charming to his Sleeping (hungover-and-not-so-) Beauty.

“Why am I still here?” Will filled in for him and let out a little snort of laughter. “Well, you promised me we would talk in the morning, and, well, you’ve been avoiding me like the plague since I got here so I reasoned it might be the only chance I get at cornering you…” 

“You are really stubborn, Solace… has anyone ever told you that?” Nico said.

“Yeah. It’s one of my super powers actually…” Will shrugged again.

“I didn’t say it was necessarily a good thing…” Nico grumbled, but he had a hard time hiding the way his mouth was involuntarily curving up into a tired smile. 

Look, maybe I’m a pathetic lovesick idiot who completely lacks any form of dignity here, considering how many times I keep throwing myself on you… But, you did say some interesting things yesterday…”

“I was drunk..”

“I’m well aware of that, yes. It was, shall we say, painfully obvious. But. I don’t think it was just the alcohol speaking Nico. In fact, I think you are just too scared to tell me how you really feel when you’re not completely wasted. Which is a bit sad, to be honest. But still. I’m going to give it one last shot and tell you why I think I deserve another chance. Why we deserve another chance. And if you still don’t want me, I promise you I won’t bother you again, ok?”

“Will…” Nico pleaded. He couldn’t deal with this serious, self- degrading Will. But he didn’t know if he had it in himself to confess his deepest feelings either. Not this early in the morning. Hung over. Before he even had breakfast and a shower. Fuck, who was he kidding? He would always suck at feelings...

“Nico… “ Will countered, holding up a hand signal he wanted to finish. “I’m obviously in love with you, and I will venture out here and say that I think you have feelings for me too… However, I know that you are scared of something. Now, what I want to know is this - is it just about the risk of you ending up in the spotlight? That you don’t want people to know? Because if that is the one big dealbreaker, I guess we can end this conversation now. That’s the one thing I can’t fix. Everything else, I think we could work through…” 

Nico closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the couch for a couple of seconds while trying to figure out how to handle this conversation. As much as it pained him, he couldn’t lie to Will. Not now, not after all the trouble he had gone through to have this conversation.

“I’m sorry… Will… that part is definitely the worst. But, there are other things as well…”

“Like?” Will asked, in an almost business like manner.

“Well, for starters, I’m not sure about the long distance thing. I mean, it worked for a while, but in the long run, do you really think it’s going to be that easy? You’re away on tour, and you live across the country… I don’t know if we can have a serious relationship under those circumstances?”

“Fair enough. And what if I said that could change?”

“How?”

“Well, first of all, I don’t really have anything that ties me to L.A. As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking about moving to New York for a while, I mean, I’ve got Lou here, and Cecil and all my old friends too…”

“Oh…” Nico managed to squeeze out, his eyes widening. He hadn’t expected this, for sure.

“And also,” Will continued “Apollo’s has given me the opportunity to take a bit of time off. I probably won’t be touring much for the next year or so, except for performing at a couple of charity events and a TV-award… I asked for some time off to see if I can start my pre-med studies, and after the fiasco with Octavian, they aren’t about to deny me anything I ask for, really.”

“You… you would do that… for me?” Nico asked in astonishment.

Will smiled weakly. “Well, yeah. Although it wouldn’t  _ just _ be for you. I’ve been thinking a lot over the last couple of weeks Nico. And I realized that what started as a dream - making a living out of my favourite hobby - has become more about me doing what everybody else wants me to do. I think I need to step back a bit and do something else to find the joy in music again. And also, I don’t know if I want to do this for the rest of my life. When I started, I did it because I would always regret it if I didn’t take the chance. Now, I’m finding myself thinking “what if I had become a doctor instead” more often than not. And even if I will still sing, and perhaps I won’t have a normal life exactly, at least not for the foreseeable future, I want to dial the craziness down a notch. So. Long story short, it’s not just about you. But sure, if this decision would also mean I could have a normal relationship, I’m even more eager to make it.” 

“Wow, that was… a bit unexpected…” Nico said when Will finally ended his speech.

“Ok, like… unexpected in a good or a bad sort of way? You’re not exactly jumping with joy here…” Will asked, a note of uncertainty in his voice.

“No… I mean… yeah. I don’t know. I… good for you, I guess? I just don’t want to be the one to hold you back, you know?” Nico tried to explain. 

“Hold me back? What makes you think you would…?” 

“I… I mean. Shit, Will. You’re just this… super gorgeous, super talented guy… you can have anyone you want, and do anything you want, you know? I don’t want to be the one to hold you back and kill your career. You deserve to be out there and sing and flirt around, have wild sex with strangers now that you finally can, party like a rock star and be generally famous and amazing. I couldn’t live with it if I was holding you back. If people were saying that you gave up everything for me… I’m not worth it.” 

The room was silent for a little too long after Nico was finished and he realized he should probably have stopped talking long ago. Or never started. He could hear for himself how stupid it sounded when he tried to explain his insecurities, even as he spoke. But come on; he was hungover, tired, scared and frankly quite in shock. Perhaps he should have told Will how he felt about him? He had been so honest himself, but come on? It was obvious, right? He had already confessed, and it just felt so cringe to spell it out again. Will, however, didn’t seem impressed. Nico could practically feel the mood changing in the room.

“Well, I guess that’s it then.” Will said plainly and Nico could hear his voice thicken. 

“Will…“ he pleaded again with a sigh, hoping inspiration would strike and let him explain in a better way why he was so scared of this, whatever it was.

“No, Nico. I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything. But you seem to care more about what other people think about us and our relationship, and that’s kind of a dealbreaker really. I can’t change how the media and the paparazzi are after me over night. And you also don’t seem to know me very well if you think I came out so I can flirt around and have wild orgies while I live the glamorous pop star life. I know who you are Nico, and I know what you’re worth to me. But if this is how you feel about things, perhaps I should really try to move on.” 

*

Nico still didn’t understand exactly what had happened even as he tried to explain it to Hazel and Bianca later that night. His evil sisters, however, seemed to have no problem interpreting the events and informing Nico about just how much of an idiot he was.

“So, to summarize, the man you are quite obviously madly in love with keeps telling you he wants you to be together, and you turned him down because of… what exactly? That your picture might end up in the papers one day?” Bianca asked.

“...and, he offers to move to New York for you and to cut down on his crazy tour schedule so that you can be together, but you still treat him like shit?” Hazel filled in. 

“I didn’t exactly treat him like shit” Nico defended himself.

“Oh, please. You might have helped him with the Octavian mess, but you didn’t even talk to him before Lou forced you, and you have avoided him ever since he got here just because you are too fucking scared to confront your own feelings,” Bianca scoffed. “And now, you’ve broken his heart because you’re afraid of what other people might say about you and your relationship? Even after he’s proven himself willing to give up so much for you?” 

“But that’s just the thing… I don’t want him to give up things for me. He deserves better.” Nico insisted.

“But he doesn’t want better Nico, he wants you. I think he made that perfectly clear? And that's what relationships are all about - compromising and making sacrifices. Only; you obviously aren’t prepared to do your part and maybe give up a bit of privacy, even if nobody forces you to actually share the spotlight with him, mind.”

Yeah. Ok. When she put it like that… he kind of had been a dick about this whole thing, hadn’t he? If he really wanted Will to move on, he shouldn’t have drunkenly kissed him and leading him on by propositioning him last night. That hadn’t been fair. 

The problem with the whole thing had really been that Nico still didn’t believe Will could be this into him. Hell, had he even said he was in love with him? Shit… How had it taken Nico seven hours for that confession to even sink in? Somehow, he had expected for Will to move on now that he was out, and he had acted accordingly and pushed him away to protect his own heart. But he hadn’t even considered Will’s feelings. Like, what would this situation be like if Will  _ actually _ wanted him? Not until now. Shit, he was a major fuck up… 

“I really have been an idiot, haven’t I?” Nico sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was supposed to be the last chapter of the main story. But then some things happened:
> 
> 1) it got too long  
2) I realized Nico wouldn't just give up his stupid "I can't do this famous boyfriend thing" that easily.  
3) I wanted a bit more of Will's pov  
4) I went through a bad stage of my depression and couldn't really think up a nice, fluffy ending. 
> 
> So, to summarize, I got a bit stuck and drew an ugly illustration instead of writing. I swear, someday I will learn how to draw digitally and not make it look like a ten year old has done it ;)
> 
> BUT: Now that Nico has finally come to his senses, the next chapter will be the last. I promise. And then it's just the epilogue. Thanks for all the comments you people, this is my first multi chapter that I have written while people actually follow the progress. It's both encouraging and terrifying... :)


	10. Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will is sulking, and preparing for his big charity concert. And he's in for a little surprise...

“Come on Will, you need to get ready for the gig…” 

Will rubbed his hands over his eyes and slowly rose from Lou Ellen’s couch with a sigh. Somehow, it seemed like a huge effort to even stand right now. How the hell was he going to be able to sing tonight? And it wasn’t just any gig either, no. It was the charity concert that meant so much to him, his first big appearance since coming out and his supposed thank-you to his most faithful fans who had helped him out of the whole Octavian mess. He needed to be at his best, he needed to radiate energy and happiness. He needed to show everyone he still had it, or hopefully, that he was better than ever now that he could finally be himself openly. Only, it was a bit hard when all he wanted to do was to hide under a pillow on his best friend’s couch and sulk. Yes, sulk over a guy like some love sick teenager. Fuck this, he couldn’t let Nico di Angelo ruin his life anymore. He needed to snap out of it. 

Will took a deep breath and dug deep down in his internal pool of happy memories and positive-thoughts-bank. Singing. He loved singing. And his fans, they had been amazing. The amount of love and support he had received since coming out was overwhelming; his friends had been great, Lou was a rock and had helped him through both the rough times and the last couple of crazy weeks.. He couldn’t let them all down now just because Nico di Fucking Angelo was a godsdamn coward. 

“Come on Will, you can do this!” Lou said, punching him playfully on the arm.

“Yeah… yeah, I know… I’ll just…” he gave himself a small shake and tried for a smile. Evidently, it wasn’t very convincing if the look Lou gave him was anything to go by. 

“Look, I’m sorry Will. It’s partly my fault for inviting him, I know. I was just so sure you would sort things out, ok? It’s pretty obvious he’s crazy about you and I’m still certain you’ll work it out. But right now, you have to snap out of it, ok? Compartmentalize, remember? Try to focus on tonight’s performance and we can spend all day tomorrow obsessing over what Nico did or didn’t do or say, ok? I’ll be all ears and I won’t complain one second, I swear.”

Will had to smile at his friend. She was truly something. 

“Alright, let’s do this.” he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek before brushing off non-existent dirts from his hands on his jeans, like if he was about to dig in to some heavy physical task.

The thing was, he had been a bit resentful of Lou for pushing him and Nico at each other at the party. She had meant well by inviting him, Will knew that. Lou had been so sure they would get back together faster than the Stoll brothers could say “bottom’s up”. Will hadn’t been so sure himself, but part of him had hoped for something. Part of him had nursed some cheesy rom-com fantasy where Nico’s stubbornness crumbled upon seeing him, and he fell into his arms and all was forgiven. Yeah, in retrospect, he had to admit that was a stupid thought. It wouldn’t have been a very Nico thing to do, for starters. And the rom-coms never had any Stoll brothers messing with the protagonist’s life. But even if he didn’t get his happy ending, he had at least hoped for them to be able to talk things through like grown ups, and at the very least settling for being friends, but without the awkwardness between them. To be honest, he wasn’t so sure he could be friends with Nico, but he would learn. He’d rather have friendship than nothing anyway, and it stung more than a little that Nico evidently didn’t feel the same way. 

Although Will was actually quite certain that Nico did have feelings for him too. He had all but confessed it at the party, and this morning too. But this was honestly the most frustrating part of it all. If Nico hadn’t been interested, Will would definitely have had enough pride to let him go by now (he hoped). But it was so hard to accept that the man who Will was almost certain was the love of his life felt (more or less) the same, but was too much of a coward to do something about it. Lou had tried to, patiently, explain to Will that people were different that way. It didn’t necessarily mean that Nico’s feelings were less real, it only meant that he wasn’t as prone to dive head first into things that Will was. He probably wanted to be sure and he hadn’t had enough time to process Will’s confessions and his sudden plans to move to New York and take a sabbatical. 

“You’ve had time to think about this Will, Nico hasn’t…” Lou had tried to explain. And maybe she was right. Maybe Will had been coming on a bit too strongly again, and been too quick to judge Nico’s reactions. To be honest, he didn’t even know why he had been so upset and rushed off like that. But something in Nico’s confession had really hurt. Part of it was that Nico just didn’t seem to get how important he was to Will. Mainly, however, it was the way he had treated Will like a pop star for the first time in their relationship. Nico had never seemed to care about Will’s fame and fortune before, but suddenly he had wished for him to party like a rock star and sleep around with groupies and whatever shit he had been babbling about. Fuck him, he should know better than to think that this was what Will wanted, right?

“Perhaps he’s just scared Will” Lou had speculated. “Maybe he thinks that you only settled for him before because he was the one available, and now that you’ve got all the opportunities in the world, he wants to make sure he doesn’t think you owe him anything?”

Will tried to see things from Nico’s point of view, but somehow it was hard not to feel that this was about him. That he wasn’t important enough to Nico to make up for the hassle of perhaps having his picture splayed over the tabloids from time to time. 

*

Compartmentalizing, apparently, wasn’t as easy as the psychology columns sometimes suggested… But by the time their car arrived at the venue, a good two hours before the gig started, Will had at least snapped out of his lethargic mood and managed to face is fans with a genuine smile. He made it through the long line of waiting fans, flashing smiles at the cameras and signing various t-shirts, books and records as he went. The real treat waited inside, however. This was the part he had been looking forward to the most! About fifty VIP-guests, including some friends, selected members of the press and his most dedicated fans, had been invited to a sort of pre-concert mingle fest. He had promised Kayla he would make time to talk personally with every single one of them, and they would be allowed to stay to watch the sound check and a special performance from the opening-act. 

The band chosen to warm up the audience wasn’t Will’s regular opening act from his grand tour. Insead, they had chosen a rather new, local indie band. They were mostly known for their singer, who was openly gay had made quite a scene when organizing a flash mob at the university musical festival as a protest for the lack of representation of minorities at the event. Kayla had been very pleased with herself for discovering them, and for almost making the singer faint when asking if they wanted to be the opening act for the Solace concert in NY. 

Dave, the singer, was cute, Will had to confess. If he hadn’t been so hung up on Nico, perhaps he would have been interested? 

“Oh. My. God. I can’t believe it’s actually you…” Dave said, almost breathlessly, stars in his eyes, when Will came up to him to introduce himself.

Nope. Not interested… Will sighed half amused, half exasperated. He wondered silently if he would ever be able to meet someone who wouldn’t just see him for his pop-star persona, should he not manage to sort things out with Nico.

“Hi Dave, it’s nice to meet you too… I really admire all that you’ve done for queer artists here in New York…” Will answered with a smile, hoping to steer the conversation away from himself. 

They talked for a couple of minutes about the University and the reactions of the board after Dave’s little flash mob. Will confessed to maybe moving here come fall and taking up his studies again.

“Oh, wow. I didn’t know. Perhaps we could get coffee sometime, you know, musician to musician, if you do?” Dave suggested with a wink and Will realized, blushing, that the man was indeed coming on to him. 

It was a strange feeling, indeed, after all these years of girls flirting with him, and it made him feel a bit flustered and insecure. Somehow, he had always known the girls didn’t stand a chance, which made it all feel like a game. This felt very real, but in a was that Will wasn’t prepared for at all. He didn’t want to disappoint Dave, but he was also quite sure he couldn’t ever date anyone who saw him first and foremost as a pop star. And, if he was honest, it would probably take a long time before he would be interested in dating again at all…

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re probably seeing someone…” Dave said, a bit embarrassed at Will’s complete lack of response.

“What? No, I mean… Not really, but I just… well… sort of came out of a relationship recently and I’m not really ready to start something new.” Will confessed, perhaps a bit more earnestly than he should have to a complete stranger. But he hadn’t really been prepared to answer questions about him and Nico, and thus, he didn’t have any good prefabricated answers. 

“Oh no, you poor thing. Heartbroken...” a girl who had evidently been listening to the conversation sighed and Will blushed again. Well, this wasn’t exactly how he normally interacted with his fans… 

To be honest, he was a bit surprised by the fact that he hadn’t realized how different it would be now that he was out. He had always played a part when interacting with his fans - the flirty player type part. Perhaps he should have come up with a new role to play, but he was honestly sick of it. So what if he showed himself a bit vulnerable? It didn’t seem like his fans minded… And maybe someone would sell him out to the press if he confessed too much, but would it be so much worse to have the truth revealed than having to read nothing but lies about himself, really?

“Will…” a voice he recognized as Phoebe, one of the two girls who had helped Nico and Lou with the research, called out from behind and mercifully saved him from the awkward conversation. She laced her arm through his elbow and her cousin showed up on the other side and took his other arm. 

“Hi girls, thank you for saving me again…” he smiled at them as they dragged him away. This was the kind of fans who made it all worth it. The kind he thought might even develop into friends, given time. They hadn’t only helped clearing his name, but they had stood firmly by him when he came out, and helped him spread the right information in their forum and to the press. He truly owed them everything, and meeting them for the first time in real life, not more than an hour ago, had been a tearful experience. 

“Well, we can’t have boys hitting on you like that now, can we?” Phoebe said with a wink.

“Nope, not when we know for a fact your heart belongs to someone else…” Chloe smiled knowingly.

“Well, I don’t know if that’s something I’d like to discuss right now…” Will said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. This wasn’t like them at all, to try to mess with his feelings… and the smirks. They were up to something, that much was obvious. And he was sure it was no good.

“No need to talk about anything Will… your secret’s safe with us…”

“...but we do think it’s time you get ready for your performance?”

“It’s still over an hour before I have to be on stage….” Will protested when they started steering him in the direction of his lounge.

“Yeah… but we’ve got a feeling it might take awhile longer than usual, you know?” Chloe said with a wink.

Yep, definitely up to something. He didn’t even have time to process the issue and try to guess what the hell they were planning before he was basically manhandled into coming along with them. He waved goodbye to the other guests with a smile and a “see you soon” and opened the door to his lounge and stepped inside. 

“I’m so sorry. I have been a first class idiot, Will. I was hoping that you could somehow give me another chance?” a voice that he recognized all too well came from over by his couch as soon as he closed the door behind him, and he stopped in his tracks, mouth hanging open. He had expected many things to happen tonight, but he hadn’t been expecting Nico di Angelo sitting on his couch looking at him with raw emotion, face all open and vulnerable. 

A million thoughts raced through Will’s brain. He realized he hadn’t even registered that Nico wasn’t there at the event. Somehow, he hadn’t expected him to be after their parting this morning. If anything, he had thought Nico might show up later for the concert, and sneak off like a coward afterwards. But now he was here, pleading for forgiveness. And Will knew he meant it. Nico may be a coward, he may be insecure and somewhat emotionally challenged sometimes. But he was a good person deep down, and Will knew he cared for him. He wouldn’t be here, leading him on like this (at least not sober) if he didn’t really mean it. If he hadn’t decided… Will’s heart started thumping madly against his ribs. It was reacting to the significance of Nico’s presence here, in his lounge, before his brain had even done the math and realized what it really meant. They were going to be ok. It was going to be ok. Nico wanted him… 

He stepped closer, sitting down on the edge of the couch, still unable to say a single word. He wanted so many things. Like hug Nico tightly to his chest, kiss him, tangle his hands into that messy hair, nuzzle his nose into his neck and drink in his intoxicating scent… But part of Will also wanted Nico to have to fight for him, to show him he was still mad about him saying all those things this morning. Oh, well. Who the fuck was he kidding? He couldn’t do that, not when Nico fixed him with his big, chocolate brown puppy eyes and looked so sincerely sorry.

“Please, Will. I’m sorry for barging in like this… but I had to talk to you. Tell you I’m sorry… Can you forgive me for being an idiot?” he pleaded, almost pathetically and very un-Nico-ish.

“Hm… that depends, I guess. What do you have to say for yourself?” Will asked, folding his arms across his chest, trying to sound unimpressed, which was a true challenge since he just wanted to scream with joy. Apparently, he did a lousy job since Nico just flashed him a lopsided smile, rose from his place on the couch, and stepped right into his personal space. 

“Well, there’s this…” Nico whispered huskily as he forced him to unfold his arms again and 

pulled him closer. 

He slid his hands into Will’s hair and kissed him – a long, deep, passionate kiss which had Will making an embarrassing, whimpering sort of sound and left him completely breathless, like some nineteen century romance novel heroine. Well, fuck it. Bring on the smelling salt...

“And also, there’s this…” Nico started sinking to his knees. 

“There’s no need to be begging on your knees Nico...!” Will said, and he couldn’t help the amusement creeping into his voice. “And I hope you’re not proposing, it’s a bit too soon, don’t you think?” he added with a twinkle in his eyes. Fuck, there went all his pretense… he was never going to be able to play hard to get in any sort of convincing way when Nico was involved. 

“I _ was _ going to propose that I’d blow you... After all, I figured I’ll have to give you something to make amends, and I didn’t know which type of flower means _ sorry I’ve been such a stubborn idiot _ …” he answered, flashing Will an impish grin. “And also, this _ BJ before concerts-thing _ is a nice tradition to uphold after all, don’t you think?” he added as he started working on the buttons of Will’s jeans. 

Will raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that a blowjob is going to fix this?” he asked. He didn’t want to let Nico off the hook this easily, but to be honest, he also didn’t particularly want to stop him right now either. His cock was certainly interested in the proposal, even if his brain tried to argue that he should probably make sure where they stood first, before jumping head (no pun intended) first into sex instead. 

“No…” Nico said, dragging out his answer while he pulled Will’s erection out, since he had evidently seen through Will’s half arsed protest “...but it’s a start… And then, I’ll follow you to the party after the concert, I’ll even let them take pictures of us holding hands and leaving together in a car afterwards if you want to.

“Uhu... “ Will groaned, slowly losing focus as Nico’s hand wrapped around his cock. “And?”

“Then I’ll try to shake the paparazzi because I really don’t want what happens next splayed across the tabloids. Damn it, my dad reads those. And the children. Think about all the children.” Nico said, playfully, eyes twinkling. 

“So, it won’t be PG 13 I take it?” Will asked, swallowing hard. He knew he should probably make Nico work a bit more for it and gain some of his dignity back. But prioritizing dignity was really hard when he was shivering with arousal, painfully hard and leaking, and his heart was pounding madly in his chest, ready to explode with happiness. 

“Nope. Definitely not PG 13…” Nico whispered in his ear, his voice a notch lower and even huskier than before. Will was sure he did it on purpose the teasing fucker. 

“You are impossible…” Will panted, trying to keep his focus. “The most difficult groupie I’ve ever met…” 

“I don’t know if we can still call be defined as groupies if we’re in love?” Nico smirked before the head of Will’s cock disappeared into Nico’s wonderful, warm, wet mouth. Fuck… 

_ Wait, what? _Nico’s words suddenly sunk in through his aroused haze. Did he say..? Did he really mean that he…?

Will went through a tough internal conflict over the course of the next few seconds. On the one hand, he really didn’t want Nico to stop what he was doing right now because it felt like heaven. But on the other hand, he really wanted to know if Nico was saying what he thought he was saying. But, then again, he could wait another minute to find out. It wasn’t as if this would take longer...

*

Afterwards, they lay silent, tangled together on the couch, slowly kissing, for what felt like ages before Will found the courage to ask.

“Did you mean it?”

“What?”

“Well… you said we’re in love… did you mean that you too…? I mean, I told you this morning, but…” Will whispered shyly.

“Would I be here if I didn’t? It’s not like my life ambition is to make myself known as some pop star's boyfriend…”

“Boyfriend…” Will mused, unable to stop himself from smiling, which earned him a glare from Nico. Gods, he was cute. His boyfriend. Who loved him back. (Very reluctant boyfriend, perhaps, but still.) Will felt surprisingly certain Nico had made up his mind now, and that no media attention in the world would make him change it once the truth was out. So, he’d better take advantage of this opportunity and get it out there, right?

“So…” Will said tentatively… “Would it be alright if I dedicated my latest song to you, officially? I mean, I’m guessing you already know I wrote it for you, but it would mean a lot to me if I could say it out loud…” 

“You’re going to go out of your way to embarrass me, aren’t you?” Nico grumbled, but a small smile was twitching at the corners of his mouth.

“Well, you deserve some kind of punishment for keeping me waiting for so long don’t you think…?” Will said playfully poking a finger into his ribs, making him squirm with suppressed giggles. 

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I argue?” Nico shrugged.

“So you’re ok with it then?” Will asked, incredulously. 

“Do your worst Solace…” Nico sighed, but Will couldn’t help noticing that he looked rather smug. Perhaps a small part of him wasn’t only ashamed of his famous boyfriend, once he had accepted being outed? Will couldn’t help the blinding smile that was spreading across his face, and the possessive feeling that made him want to take Nico again, right here on the couch. Would they have time for another round? He wondered to himself as their kisses deepened and their hands started wandering under clothes again, ever more eagerly.

“Are you decent Will? I’m coming in…” Kaylas voice sounded from the other side of the door, and Will and Nico jumped apart and tried to straighten their clothes as best they could before the door flew open.

“What the hell...” Kayla gaped at the sight of the two of them, sitting still too close on the couch, clothes rumpled and messy hair.

“Oops…” Will said with a sheepish grin.

“Will, you’re on in like ten minutes for fuck’s sake…” Kayla sighed exasperated. “I’m happy for you guys, truly. But if you’re not changed and ready in fifteen minutes I’m going to ban Nico from your concerts for all eternity, I swear to…” 

“Alright, alright… I’m out of here…” Nico practically flew to his feet, lifting his hands in defense.

“I’ll tell the opening band they can play another song, but you’d better change and get your ass down the hall to hair and make up and see if they can do anything about…. that…” she said with a disapproving glare at Will’s messy hair.

Will couldn’t even make himself feel ashamed as Kayla practically pushed Nico out the door and shut it behind them. So the fans might have to wait a couple of minutes extra, but Will had a feeling his performance tonight would be worth the wait. The way he felt right now, he was sure he would radiate enough energy to lift the roof off this venue. It was going to be an epic concert, and the best night of his life. 

*** The end ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is a bit shorter than what I had hoped, but I got a bit of writers block and had to fight to even finish it, so I'm proud of myself for doing it. There will be a fluffy epilogue coming as well, it's already half written, so this is not the definite end... ;) 
> 
> Also, side note. The joke about that it's too early to propose is sort of based on a real life story, but it went the other way around - a friend of mine thought he was going to get a blow job, but got a (completely unexpected) marriage proposal instead. Let's just say "Oh, I thought you were going to blow me" was the wrong answer to that question...


	11. Epilogue

_ **Will Solace’s unexpected comeback!** _

_“The fans have been waiting eagerly for a come back for teenage girl favorite Will Solace since the announcement of his 18 months sabbatical. The pop artist decided to take a break from touring after a sex scandal involving his manager taking advantage of young Solace groupies while keeping the artist in the closet. Solace has only been seen performing at a handful of charity events and on one TV-show ever since his decision to take a break and starting his pre-med studies in New York. Now, Your Entertainment can share exclusive pictures of the pop-star’s surprising appearance on stage in a university pub, performing with a local pop punk band doing covers of his own greatest hits. The lead singer of the band in question, Nico di Angelo, has been seen in the company of Solace on several occasions since the artist’s coming out earlier this summer; but until now the rumored couple has chosen to guard their privacy and have refused to give interviews or officially comment on their relationship status. _

_A source present at the event confirms that “the boys looked very cute together” and assures Your Entertainment that Solace looked very happy and that there was “no denying that the two of them are an item.” We have sought the pop star’s new manager, but Solace has refrained from commenting on his love life for now. _

_We are, however, happy to announce that the teenage idol has not given up on his musical career yet, even if he has taken a break from touring and giving interviews at the moment._

_“I can confirm that Will is working on a new album along with his studies, and it is planned to be released sometime next fall” Solace’s manager answered Your Entertainment in his place. It is a comfort to all his fans out there that we have not seen the last of Will Solace yet… “_

“You looked very cute together… _ boys… _ hear that?” Leo snickered as Nico tore the magazine out of his hand.

“Aaawww…” Hazel and Piper cooed teasingly.

“We did, though... At least you were cute…” Will flashed his boyfriend a blinding smile, but Nico didn’t seem impressed.

“You guys are the worst. I hate you all so much...” Nico grumbled. “Especially you two. You’re going to pay for this, I swear…” he added, pointing a threatening finger at his sisters.

“You know us, we aim to be insufferable…” Bianca smirked and raised her wine glass in a cheer.

“I still can’t believe you got him to do it…” Lou Ellen said, incredulously, shaking her head.

“Well, a bet is a bet, and we take those very seriously in our family…” Bianca grinned.

“Yeah… but I lost that bet more than a year ago. Isn’t there a time limit for the forfeit to be valid?” Nico protested, although they had already had this conversation several times before the actual event. 

“Nope…” Bianca said, adding a somewhat childish pop at the end of the word. Somehow, the opportunity to tease her brother always made her regress to their old familiar teenage rival banter. And Nico’s relationship with Will had certainly opened up a world of possibilities. Not only was Nico so stupidly in love that it would have been funny even if Will had been nothing but an average pre-med student, no. The fact that one single picture of the two of them doing anything at all really could serve as blackmail material to get Bianca and Hazel whatever they wanted from Nico was a dream come true, really. 

“And I also have to state that the terms of the bet said the winner would pick one song for the loser to play on stage, presenting it as their favorite song, right?” Nico continued.

“Yes, your point?” Bianca sighed and rolled her eyes. Godsdamnit, was he ever going to let this go? Probably not. This was Nico, after all…

“Well, the terms didn’t say anything about famous pop stars on stage, tour t-shirts or a whole night of more or less doing pop-covers. So I think I had to pay an unfairly high price, even before the whole thing landed in the tabloids…” Nico said crossly, his arms crossed and an offended look on his face. 

“But the audience loved us babe…. And you looked so hot with my face on your chest, honestly…” Will pitched in, trying to hide his laughter while sneaking up behind Nico and wrapping his arms around him.

Nico gave Will a you-won’t-get-laid-tonight-death-glare before choosing to ignore his remark completely and turning his attention back to Bianca. She noted that Will didn’t look too scared, and who the fuck was Nico kidding? He couldn’t stay mad at Will to save his life, and he definitely wouldn’t be holding back sex if Bianca knew her brother… Which she did. Unfortunately. Ugh… if she had a dollar for every time she had walked in on them in some sort of compromising position… To be honest, it was a small miracle that they usually managed to keep their hands to themselves in public and that no pictures of them doing as much as kissing had leaked to the press yet. 

Will and Nico weren’t exactly sneaking around anymore though. All of their friends and family knew they were together, and it was considered common, although unconfirmed, knowledge at the university and among all of Will’s crew. But for some reason, that Bianca never quite understood, they had refused to issue any kind of official statement or give interviews. Personally, she thought the paparazzi and the journalists would back off more if they did. Now it was like they were all competing for the first official photo or comment. It was probably Nico’s fault, he was still getting used to the media attention and Will probably didn’t want to push his luck and risk a fight. Although Bianca suspected he was dying to tell the world about his love affair. And she could understand that - after having to lie for so many years, it must be nice to have something real to talk about for a change. Right then and there, she decided to make it her mission to help the happy couple making some progress…

She rose from her seat on the floor and beckoned for Hazel to follow her into the kitchen, while observing what the rest of the guys were up to, trying to calculate if they could sneak away unseen. Will had evidently already made Nico forgive him, and the two of them were making out rather indiscreetly on the couch. Lou Ellen, who had fitted herself seamlessly into their friend group, was arguing about something with Piper, gesturing wildly, while Jason was watching in amusement. Mike was playing Mario Kart with Frank, and Bianca watched them for a moment, her heart swelling slightly. Leo was throwing up popcorn in the air, trying to catch them in his mouth, oblivious to everything else that was going on. It seemed safe enough for a bit of scheming.

  


“Hazel, we have to do something about our brother… Will is dying to tell people and I’m frankly getting sick and tired of the speculations. I say they should get it over with…” Bianca said with a conspiratorial smirk.

“Yeah, I agree... but if we out them against his will, Nico will never forgive us…” Hazel protested, eyes narrow like she was trying to second guess what Bianca was up to.

“Sure, but if we could just convince him to do it himself?”

“How do you suppose we do that…?” Hazel raised her eyebrows. 

“I’m glad you asked little sister. Why, the usual way, of course… A challenge!”

“Oh… I like the way you think. But if he’s going to fall for it, it will have to be a challenge between the two of you, you realize that?”

“Yeah, I know… What I’m willing to do for my brother, right? I was thinking like… if he does that, I can do something I have been reluctant to do for ages? Nico would love to see me suffer, I’m sure. We’ll just have to think of something good…”

“Or…” Hazel said, with an impish grin and Bianca groaned internally. Involving Hazel had probably been a mistake.

“What?”

“I’m just thinking… What if we made a bet we’re sure you’ll win? And he’d have to come out to the press as his penalty if he loses?” Hazel suggested. “He’s more likely to fall for that, especially if we can make him think he has a chance…” 

“Oh, I’m going to regret this, right?” 

“Yep, you’re damn right sis. I know just the thing…”

Bianca sighed and shook her head with a small smile. This was going to be bad, she knew it! Her siblings were really lucky she loved them sometimes. 

*** Nico ***

Nico was seriously considering if it was time to call it a night and drag Will home, even though they hadn’t even gotten to the most interesting part of the night yet. The most important part, at least to Nico, of game night was him beating Bianca at a chosen board game. Everything else was secondary. 

It had been too long since they had all had the opportunity to beat his sister at a good old game, and just spend an evening hanging out like this. Nico had been looking forward to it, but now he wasn’t so sure it was such a good idea anymore. Will, it turned out, was more competitive than one might have thought and Nico suddenly found himself facing two opponents he had to beat (because there was no way he would let his cocky boyfriend win any more than his sassy sister). And also, one of his opponents of doom was a horrible, horrible tease who definitely very deliberately used sexual innuendos, seductive looks and suggestive physical contact to make Nico lose his focus. It was hard to keep up with a round of UNO if one had a horrible, aching, hard-on and half of one’s brain was occupied with thoughts of pressing a certain hot, blond boyfriend up against a wall and fucking him senseless. 

When Nico had forgot to say UNO for the second time, and lost the game as a consequence, Hazel dragged a laughing Will out into the kitchen to help her with the snacks. Perhaps she wanted to take mercy on Nico? Or she was just tired of their rather indiscrete flirting… He tried to take interest in Piper and Lou’s heated zombies-vs-vampires debate, which had gone on for most of the evening, instead; but quickly gave up. First of all, it was too obvious that the zombies would win, since vampires can’t drink dead blood and would starve to death sooner or later. Any idiot knows that, right? And also, Lou’s knowledge of vampires seemed mostly to consist of what she had read in Twilight, which made the whole thing pointless anyway. Those didn’t even follow normal, canonical, vampire rules. He would have to get her some good old Anne Rice novels for Christmas...

As the evening went on, Nico almost thought Bianca seemed a bit nervous, although he couldn’t really understand why. Had she something important to announce? She couldn’t have fallen for Mike’s persistent attempts to get her to move in with him, right? Nico tried to study his sister and her boyfriend, but nothing seemed different. Nico was happy that Bianca had found Mike, she really seemed to like the man; even if Nico thought he was going to have trouble keeping up with her. And how he could survive her bluntness and sass (and shameless PDA) when he seemed so shy himself was a mystery to Nico. Then again, a lot of people seemed to think Nico and Will were too different to work out (including Nico, often) but somehow they did. 

Normally, Nico wasn’t the first to notice things, but since he had an eye on Mike and Bianca, he didn’t miss their rather indiscreet attempt to sneak off unnoticed, probably trying to find some hidden corner to make out, or worse. And since it was his job as twin brother to be a pain in the ass, he couldn’t help himself. (Also, he may have wanted some revenge for all the times Bianca had cock blocked him). 

“Use protection…” he called after them and snickered when Mike blushed crimson, the poor man. But he had to learn to live with their jargon if their relationship was going to survive…

“Yeah, like you ever do…” Bianca deadpanned. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t see any empty wrappers lying around the last time I walked in on you and Will in…” she started but was interrupted by Hazel who evidently thought this was closing in on TMI.

“Gods, you two… I can’t believe I’m related to you…” she exclaimed, exasperated, throwing her hands in the air. “Can you two ever think about anything but sex?” 

Nico gave Bianca an amused look. It wasn’t that the conversation was new exactly. Hazel and Frank had waited forever (in Nico’s opinion) and even after their little sister finally lost her virginity, she didn’t like to talk about sex and she was known to blush and scoff at her older siblings when they got going. Which meant, naturally, that they usually did their best to embarrass her. But even if they had had this little sibling quarrel going on before, this was the first time she had said anything about it in public like this. She usually just grumbled and rolled her eyes when their little friend group got going with innuendos. 

“I’m sorry Hazel, we didn’t mean to damage your delicate senses with our vulgar behavior…” Nico smirked.

“Please, just because I’m not a sex-addict like you doesn’t make me a blushing virgin you know…” she scoffed in reply, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose into the air as a sort of challenge.

If Nico had stopped to consider her behavior, and if he had given Bianca’s suspicious look more attention, perhaps he hadn’t walked straight into the trap that Hazel was setting up for him. In hindsight, he realized it had been far too easy, really…

“I’m not a sex addict…” Nico shook his head “Just because I don’t want to hide from the world how much I love my boyfriend…” he tried to argue, but this earned him quite a lot of snorts, and they weren’t all coming from Hazel.

“Oh, really Nico. So now you’re implying I don’t love my boyfriend just because I don’t consider every minute I don’t have my tongue down his throat and my hand on his ass in public a waste of time?” Hazel said.

“No, I just said that I’m not a slut just because I happen to enjoy sex…” 

“Oh, I enjoy sex a lot for your information, I just don’t see the need to let the rest of the world know about everything I do. And also, I can get through one game night with my friends without having to sneak off for a quicky... “ she said with a pointed look in Bianca’s direction.

“Now wait a minute…” Bianca interrupted. “First of all, who says that’s what we were going to do? And second of all, even if that was the case, it doesn’t mean we couldn’t go without. Just because I drink a glass of wine from time to time doesn’t make me an alcoholic, right?” 

“From time to time…” Hazel snorted and started laughing so hard she could hardly speak.

“Oh please, neither of you could go one week without sex and you know it…” she snickered, wiping away tears of laughter from her eyes, once she had caught her breath.

“Really? What are you betting?” Nico said, smirking. He could go one week without sex, he was sure of it. It would be a pain, sure, but totally worth it if it would get Hazel to shut up. 

“Hey, wait a minute… why am I being punished for this all of a sudden?” Will suddenly pitched in, obviously having realized that this argument very much concerned him. Hazel just glared at him but before she could retort, Leo interrupted.

“Woah, how would you even control that bet? Who says they wouldn’t cheat…?” he argued, leisurely pointing the bread stick he had been chewing on at Hazel. 

“Well, I’m thinking more of a challenge… with a forfeit that would make both Will and Mike want to out the loser…” she said with a mischievous grin. 

“What…? I didn’t accept this?” Bianca suddenly chimed in, glaring daggers at Nico. Evidently, she had figured out what was going on before he had. 

“Oh, but I challenge you Nico and Bianca… why don’t we see who can go the longest without?” 

“The longest? What happened to the time limit of a week??” Nico exclaimed aghast. 

“Yeah, I don’t know about this… Will said. The prize better be good if I’m to be involved in this mess…” he said thoughtfully. A bit too thoughtfully, Nico realized. He was a hell of a singer that man, but not much of an actor. Fuck, he was in on this… Nico had been tricked. 

“So, my suggestion is… if Nico loses, he’ll agree to an interview as Will’s official boyfriend…” Nico gasped, while Bianca smirked behind his back. Oh fuck them all. This was evidently a team effort. 

“And if Bianca loses?” he said. “No way I will agree to that if she doesn’t get to do something really bad as well…” 

“If Bianca loses, she’ll move in with Mike on a trial basis for three months.” Hazel suggested.

“What?” Bianca exclaimed. 

“What?” Nico agreed, but not for the same reason. “That’s not bad at all, that’s bound to happen sooner or later anyway…” he grumbled. 

“As is you outing your relationship, dear brother” Bianca huffed. “And I still think this is a bit harsh, I mean, shouldn’t we move in together when we want to live together? Not because of some stupid bet?” she sent a pleading look in Mike’s direction, hoping for support.

“I don’t know Bi, I mean. You do practically live with me anyway, you just need to get your shit together and confess it… I know you want to, you’re just too much of a coward so this might just be the thing. And also, I call for you to have to meet my parents as well as part of the agreement.” he shrugged and Nico had to admit his respect for the man grew a lot in that instant. So, perhaps he wasn’t as outspoken as the rest of the gang, but he evidently wasn’t a pushover. 

“Great, so it’s settled then… we’ll just negotiate the terms and then we start.”

“Like tomorrow…?” Nico asked cautiously.

“Oh no. Right now. No trying to make up for lost sex in advance…” Leo argued, evidently finding the whole thing exceedingly amusing. 

“But that’s unfair. What if we already went three days without and they just did it…?” Nico argued, cocking his head in Bianca’s direction. But this only earned him a chorus of mocking laughter, not one bit of sympathy. Apparently, nobody found this story plausible.

Nico groaned internally. There was no way he was getting out of this with his dignity intact. Challenges were holy in their family and backing out was out of the question since both Will and Mike had agreed to be part of it, the horrible traitors. As much as he loved Will, right now he felt like strangling the man. His only comfort was that at least he, too, would be suffering. Hopefully he would win this and Will would have to endure Gods know how long sexually frustrated for nothing… To be fair, perhaps Bianca did have a bit more character than he did, and Nico’s boyfriend was obviously hotter, which worried him a bit. But then again, he also had more to lose. Even if Mike had somehow managed to include the dreaded parental meeting into the terms, being interviewed and having one’s name splashed across all the tabloids in the country must be worse, right? 

*** Will ***

“I hate you - so much - right now.” Nico grumbled and sent Will a dark glare from under his bangs. 

Will tried to look serious, but couldn’t help smiling. He loved this man so, so much, and he was finally going to be able to tell the world. 

“Nah, you love me…” he smiled at Nico and leaned in to brush their noses together. Nico tried to look offended and pull away, but Will wrapped his arms around his lover and kissed his neck affectionately before they stepped out of the car.

“...in fact, you find me irresistible, obviously, or we wouldn’t be here.” he said, flashing Nico a dazzling smile. He was pushing his luck, probably, but it wasn’t like Nico could do much to punish him. They had already mutually agreed that they would never, ever under any circumstances agree to voluntary celibacy ever again. And he knew Nico loved him enough not to leave him over something stupid like this, so he felt brave. 

As expected, Nico sent him an angry look in reply. “You didn’t play fair…”

“Come on love, you do want to be on your best behavior right now, you realize? They can smell fear…”

“I thought you said you trusted this reporter?” Nico scowled. 

“Yeah, as much as reporters can be trusted, mind. But they still won’t write anything particularly nice about you if you’re all rude and grumpy.”

“You’d better do the talking then…” Nico grumbled, but the tension in his shoulders was slowly melting away and he accepted Will’s hand as he stretched it out in search for Nico’s and intertwined their fingers. 

Will felt oddly giddy and a bit nervous, just by walking through the park like this, hand in hand with Nico. They had never allowed themselves any kind of PDA before, at least not among the general public. Nico had been reluctant to talk to the press and Will had wanted them to come out with their relationship on their own terms, and not by accidentally being captured on film by some paparazzi. Things had gone smoother than he had dared to hope for though, starting a new life as a College student. He had given a long interview beforehand, and the paparazzi had been following him around for the first couple of weeks, but they had actually lost interest and more or less left him alone after a while when it turned out he didn’t do much of interest during his time at the University. 

His classmates had been great too, and apart from the random fan turning up and asking for an autograph, most of the student body treated him more or less like a normal person. Also, it helped that he had Nico, Lou Ellen, Cecil and Nico’s whole friend group to hang out with during his free time and that the pre-med students were far too busy with their academic achievements to spend any valuable time in between lectures hunting after pop stars…

The only thing missing really was to be able to show his affection to Nico in public. They weren’t exactly hiding that they were more than friends, but they didn’t kiss or hold hands either and Will missed the intimacy. Nico was like a magnet and it was sometimes almost impossible not to reach out and touch him when he was nearby. But from now on, that was all going to change, and the mere thought made Will feel almost dizzy, heart swelling in his chest. 

“People are staring…” Nico whispered in a hushed tone, looking around them nervously. Will couldn’t help it. So, they might have agreed that they would do the interview first, but really. What was the chance that someone would be able to spread a picture of them before it got out? He couldn’t stop himself anymore.

“So, let’s give them something to look at!” he said and pulled Nico into a searing kiss, right there in the middle of the crowded park. To his amazement, Nico let him.

“I guess I’d better get used to the staring. Wouldn’t want to miss that for the world.” Nico sighed as they broke apart, and when his lips curved up into one of his signature secret smiles, Will’s heart exploded in his chest. He realized that until now, a small part of him had feared Nico would chicken out. But Nico had kissed him in public, and even though they could see the reporter and the photographer waving at them from the café in the park, he was still there, firmly clasping Will’s hand in his. 

_ This is real _ , Will thought and smiled. _ This man is mine now, and I’ll never let him go. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I did it! I finished my first multi chapter! It almost feels a bit sad... 
> 
> It took a bit longer than I had hoped to get the last part up, mostly because I wanted to keep writing, but in the end I cut out a lot that I had wanted to include (like how it happened that Nico lost the bet...). Perhaps I'll do a one shot about that at some point!?
> 
> I want to thank you amazing people for all the comments, kudos and the support I got when things got a bit tough somewhere in the middle of writing it. You really inspired me to keep going! 
> 
> As I told you before, I started a brand new Tumblr just so I could post the art for this piece, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Probably keep posting my attempts at fanart, but perhaps I'll use it for writing too? If you are on Tumblr, feel free to find me at www.tumblr.com/blog/thesunshineandrainbowsblog and give me some hints about what to do on that Forum, as I was never on it before!


End file.
